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“What a brea\ for me” said Dic\ 



























NATALIE 


By 

ENID JOHNSON 

W 



Pictures by 

LUCILLE WALLOWER 


JUNIOR PRESS BOOKS 

alberTWhitman 

ty 4co 

CHICAGO 

1938 




PZi 

tUt 


Copyright, 1938, by 
ALBERT WHITMAN fc? COMPANY 



The quotations from CARGOES by John 
Masefield are used with the permission of 
The Macmillan Company. 

Printed in the U.S.A. 


0CT2ijj*)38 

©ClA 1 22383 


To 
A. J. 

Who Knows Why 







: 





TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Page 

The Wreck of the Bobolink. 17 

Confidences . 26 

The First Guest. 41 

Minnie Mis'hap to the Rescue. 51 

Uncle Bill . 63 

Ward Deliverance. 73 

First Steps. 89 

The Party.105 

Tourists Accommodated.119 

The Plain Unvarnished Truth.124 

When Dreams Come True.156 

For to Admire and to See.181 

Through the Big Ditch.194 

The Three'Ringed Circus.206 

Golden Days in Panama.225 

Special Messenger .244 

Family of Four.257 

Commencement .268 





























FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 


COLOR PLATES 

Page 

“What a break for me,” said Dick. 7 

Natalie always returned with many sketches. 16 

BLACK AND WHITE PLATES 

Page 

“I think these show real talent”. 33 

“The doctor says you maybe won’t ever walk”.... 47 
It was the loveliest Christmas she had ever spent.. 83 

“Now she’s a cripple, she goes to a dance!”.113 

“Why, Cuzi'Zen Dick!” cried Natalie.133 

“Just look at yourself, Mr. Bossy Frost”.147 

“It’s fairyland!” cried Natalie.177 

The carimetta jogged along a beautiful avenue....213 

A prettier wedding was never seen.265 

“We are proud of you, Natalie”.283 



































% 






























































Natalie always returned with many sketches 





Chapter I 

THE WRECK OF THE BOBOLINK 

H I, NATS!” the voice of Teddy Davis cut 
through the warm spring air. Natalie turned 
her head toward the window. The shades 
were drawn, but she could see a flicker of sunlight 
playing along the sill. 

“That’s Teddy,” she thought. “They haven’t told 
him. Maybe I am not hurt as badly as I thought I 
was if they haven’t told Teddy.” She tried to lift 
herself on her elbow to call a greeting to Teddy, but 
the effort sent a sharp pain along her back, and she 
settled quickly against the pillow. A little moan 
escaped her tight'shut lips. 

Instantly a white-clad figure was standing beside 
her bed and a strange voice said, “What is it, dear?” 

17 


i8 


Natalie 


“Who are you?” It was hard to speak, almost 
more effort than was worth while. But she did want 
to know who belonged to the face bending over her. 

l Tm your nurse,’ 1 was the answer. “My name is 
Leonora Hart, but most people call me Miss Lee.” 

“Natalie,” the voice of Teddy sounded more in¬ 
sistent this time. And instantly came another voice, 
warning, almost scolding. It was her aunt’s voice. 

“Hush, Teddy. Please go away. Natalie is sick!” 

Through the open window Teddy’s voice came 
very clearly. “Isn’t she all right yet?" he demanded. 

“No, Teddy. Not yet.” Was Aunt Bess crying? 

“Aw, shucks,” Teddy answered. “Doesn’t she 
realize the Star Dusters are going to play the Buf¬ 
falo Wonders tomorrow? We’ve got to have her! 
Won’t you tell her that—” But the rest was lost 
to Natalie’s ears, for Miss Lee quickly crossed the 
room and closed the window. Then she came back 
to the bed and took Natalie s hand in hers. They 
were nice hands, thought Natalie, and strong too, 
not soft and weak like most women’s hands. 

“I’m glad you are awake, Natalie,” Miss Lee said. 

For now you and I can begin to get acquainted.” 
She smiled at Natalie, who did her best to smile 
back, although she felt more like crying. But it was 
not in Natalie Harding’s code to cry. 

“By the way, your father asked me to let him 
know as soon as you woke up,” said Miss Lee. “Shall 



The Wrec\ of the Bobolink^ 


19 


I call him? He is going to the office today, the first 
time for a week.” 

“For a week,” echoed Natalie in surprise. “Why, 
it was just yesterday that he and I were driving, 
and—” 

She stopped suddenly, for now she remembered 
what had been perplexing her. She closed her eyes 
to think better, and lay so still that Miss Lee thought 
she had fallen asleep again. But Natalie was not 
sleeping. Her thoughts went scurrying from one 
comer of her mind to another, collecting pieces of 
memory to weave into a pattern. Now it was all 
coming back to her. 

She and her father had been driving along the 
boulevard trying out the new car, or, as her father 
called it, “taking the good ship on her maiden voy¬ 
age.” She had been so proud of the new car, with 
its gay canary-colored body and shiny steel trim¬ 
mings. Daddy and Aunt Bess and she had picked 
it out from many others at the Auto Show in New 
York City last November. And it had just come! 

They had named it right then and there at the 
show, much to the annoyance of the salesman who 
had expected them to admire the upholstery and 
the wonders of the engine. But of course he could 
not possibly have known how important names were 
to the Harding family. They had a name for every¬ 
thing. 



20 


Natalie 


“Let’s call it Bobolink,” Natalie had suggested. 

“But bobolinks aren’t yellow.” Aunt Bess, who 
was very correct and particular about such things, 
had protested. 

“This one is,” Daddy had said, as he kissed Aunt 
Bess right on her little turned-up nose, salesman or 
no salesman. “Don’t you go getting so accurate, old 
lady, just because you are President of the Audubon 
Bird Club,” he had chided. 

So Bobolink it was. And Natalie and her father 
had had such a splendid secret about it! They were 
going to take some rides out into the country. On 
the safe little back roads, where there was scarcely 
any traffic. Daddy was going to teach her to drive. 
They were not going to let Aunt Bess know about 
this until Natalie became quite expert, for things like 
that were inclined to make Aunt Bess nervous. 

But one day, so went the plan, when the three of 
them were out in the car together, Daddy was going 
to climb down from his seat and say, “Miss Natalie 
Harding at the wheel.” Then Natalie would slide in 
under the steering wheel, and, much to her aunt’s 
consternation, would step on the accelerator and 
away they d go with the lady’s expression changing 
from bewilderment to pleasure,” Daddy had prophe¬ 
sied. 

Yes, that had been the wonderful dream. But how 
differently it had all turned out! One afternoon 



The Wrec\ of the Bobolink^ 


21 


Daddy had come driving home in state in the new 
car, arriving just as Natalie came in from high school. 

“Let’s go for a spin, girls,” Daddy had said, gaily. 
He always called them girls when he was feeling 
particularly happy. “Then we’ll celebrate with ice 
cream sodas at the Goody Shop.” 

“Oh, how I wish I could!” Aunt Bess had said. 
“But I promised old Mrs. Craven that I would be in 
all afternoon if she called. But you two run along, 
anyway. And do be careful!” 

“Be careful.” Of course Daddy had been careful. 
He was a wonderful driver. But just as they had 
rounded a comer a great red truck had shot out 
ahead of them—and all of a sudden—all of a sudden 
she had cried out, “Oh, Daddy!” Then what had 
happened next? She remembered a frightful, splin¬ 
tering noise as if the whole universe had blown up, 
a blinding light, and then darkness. 

So that was why she was lying in bed with a 
trained nurse to take care of her! Natalie opened her 
eyes and saw her nurse still standing beside her. 

“Was my father hurt too, Miss Lee?” she asked. 

“Not very badly. His arm is broken, and he had 
some bruises, but he will be all right soon. Shall I 
call him?” 

“Yes, please, but tell him I can’t roughhouse with 
him this morning.” Oh dear! Why did she want to 
cry, Natalie wondered. It didn’t hurt very much 



22 


Natalie 


unless she moved, yet she felt like such a baby! 

The solemn, quiet man who came into her room 
with his arm in a sling did not seem much like her 
splendid playmate, the envy of all her friends. N;v 
talie was perhaps too old for that sort of thing, but 
she and her father had never given up their early 
morning scrimmage. “That’s our daily dozen,” Dad' 
dy had once said, when Aunt Bess protested. 

But his voice was the same as he spoke to his 
daughter. “Hi, Nats.” 

“Hello, Daddy,” she tried to smile. “How’s 
things?” It was their daily greeting. But it was too 
much for her father. He turned his head away to 
hide his own grief. 

See here, Corporal. ’Tenshun!” Natalie said with 
mock severity. 

Her father responded huskily, “Aye, aye, sir.” 

“It’s scandalous the way we mix up the Army 
and Navy, Miss Lee,” he said as soon as he had re' 
covered his composure. “But it’s our game and 
we’ll stick to it.” 

^ They all laughed. “Well, darling,” said her father, 
“I must get along to the office. I’ll see you tonight.” 

He bent to kiss her, but could not put his arm 
around her because of the bandage. 

“I’m sorry you hurt your wing, Dad. Does it feel 
very bad?” 

“Just a little.” 



The Wreck of the Bobolink, 


*3 


“Is it the right one, Dad?” 

“ ’Fraid so, Nats.” 

“Then how will you draw?” 

“Oh, it will get better soon. Good-bye, dear.” 

“Good-bye, Daddy.” 

After her father closed the door behind him, 
Natalie listened until she heard his steps going down 
the stairs. She felt sad and frightened. She won¬ 
dered how bad it all was. Would they tell her the 
truth, or treat her like a baby the way most people 
do when one is sick? 

There was so much to worry about! If her father’s 
hand was hurt how would he be able to draw the 
comic strips that kept the Harding’s own private 
big bad wolf from the door, as her father called it? 
And what about herself? What had happened to 
her? Why was it so important that she lie still? 
How soon would she be able to go back to school? 

Would her nurse tell her the truth, Natalie won¬ 
dered, or would she act like most people and try to 
hide things? She looked like a straightforward kind 
of person. Well, she would ask, anyway. 

“Miss Lee,” she called. 

“Yes, dear.” She has a nice voice as well as strong 
hands, Natalie thought to herself, and no fuss about 
her. 

“Miss Lee, will you tell me something?” 

“I’ll tell you what I can, of course, Natalie,” an- 



24 


Natalie 


swered Miss Lee. “What is it you want to know?” 

“First of all, will Daddy’s hand be all right?” 

“Why, of course it will,” Miss Lee’s voice sound' 
ed very reassuring, as if she meant what she said. 
“Lots of people break their arms or wrists or even 
hands, and they heal.” 

“But Daddy is an artist. He needs his hand more 
than most people need theirs. It is more important.” 

“Even so, Natalie, artists’ hands heal just like other 
peoples’,” and Miss Lee was smiling at her. 

“Please don’t joke about it,” begged Natalie. “Oh, 
dear, I thought you would be different!” 

“Why, Natalie,” concern and surprise were min' 
gled in Leonora Hart’s voice. “What do you mean 
by that?” 

“Well," said Natalie, hesitatingly, “grown people 
have a way of keeping the truth away from kids, 
most of all when they are sick. Don’t you know. 
Miss Lee, that I’d rather know than not know? It’s 
not knowing that scares me. Don’t you understand 
what I mean?” 

“Yes, I do understand, my dear,” Miss Lee am 
swered soberly. “And I respect the way you feel 
about it. But you must not think that doctors and 
nurses keep information away from their patients just 
to be contrary. Sometimes it works just the other 
way, and knowing too much about their condition 
only makes people worry more.” 



The Wrecks of the Bobolink 


25 


“Not for me, it wouldn’t,” Natalie answered 
stoutly. 

“Very well. Ask me anything you wish and I will 
help you all I can to understand what has happened.” 

Natalie smiled. This nurse was different, after all! 
“Thanks,” she said. “Then tell me really what hap' 
pened to me.” 

“You hurt your back in the accident, Natalie. You 
know you had an accident, don’t you?” 

“Yes, Miss Lee. I remember the red truck hitting 
us in the new car, but nothing else. Is my back badly 
hurt?” 

“Well, badly enough so that you will have to stay 
in bed for some weeks and you will have to lie quiet' 
ly. Now that you are awake and I can boss you a 
little, you may be sure that I’ll see to it you do a bet' 
ter job of staying still than you have been doing so 
far.” She pretended to look very stem but her eyes 
were twinkling. 

“What day is this? Goodness, if the game is to' 
morrow, as Teddy said, this must be Friday! Is it?” 

“It is indeed,” answered Miss Lee. “And I have 
been here since Monday evening, so think of all the 
time we have lost! You and I will have to hurry up 
and learn to know each other.” 

Natalie smiled. In spite of all the pain and worry, 
she decided getting acquainted with someone as nice 
as Miss Lee would be great fun. 




Natalie lay asleep, dreaming that she was running 
along a high cliff in the early morning sunshine. It 
was fun to run in the dream. But suddenly her foot 
slipped and she tumbled over the edge of the cliff 
and went falling and falling, dizzily, sickeningly, until 
bump! She landed with a thud in the valley below. 
She came wide awake with a jerk that sent the cruel 
fingers of pain digging into her back. She tried to lie 
still so as not to disturb Miss Lee, asleep in the day 
bed beside her, but suddenly Miss Lee leaned over 
her and said, softly, “Awake, dear?” 


26 


Confidences 


27 


“Yes,” answered Natalie. “I guess I jumped in my 
sleep, and it hurts. But I didn't mean to disturb you. 
Miss Lee. I'm so sorry.” 

“Never mind, darling. It’s almost morning, any¬ 
way. I’ll just slip a blanket around me and sit beside 
you and we’ll watch the dawn together. Shall we?” 

“I’d like to,” Natalie said, trying to keep her lips 
from quivering. 

But before she took her seat at Natalie’s bedside. 
Miss Lee smoothed the girl’s pillow and straightened 
the crumpled sheet under her. Then she lit the little 
spirit lamp on the table and heated a cup of milk 
which she brought for Natalie to drink. 

“How do you know how to do so many things 
to make a person feel better, Miss Lee?” Natalie 
asked gratefully. “You’re a wonder!” 

“Why, making her patient as comfortable as pos¬ 
sible is the nurse’s first job,” said Miss Lee with a 
little laugh. 

“Still,” said Natalie, as she sipped the warm drink 
Miss Lee held for her, “you are extra-specially good 
at it. How did you happen to be a nurse, Miss Lee? 
Not that it’s any wonder you did!” 

“Well, Nats,” said Miss Lee, settling beside Nata¬ 
lie, and smoothing the girl’s forehead with strong, 
gentle hands, “I have always thought that making 
sick people well was about the most important thing 
a person could do with his life. That’s been my am- 



28 


Natalie 


bition ever since I have known what I wanted to do.” 

“But didn’t you change your mind a lot of times, 
Miss Lee, about what you wanted to do when you 
grew up, and ever think about other things to do?” 

“No dear, I don’t believe I ever did. No doubt if 
I had had a special talent like singing or drawing it 
would have been different. But why do you ask?” 

“Because that’s not a bit like me,” Natalie said. 
“Maybe I am more changeable than you are. Some' 
times I want to be one thing and sometimes another. 
You see, I’ve always been a good athlete and some 
of the time I think I want to be an athletic instructor 
at a big school, but most of the time—well, maybe 
you will think I am a copycat—but I’d love to be an 
artist like Daddy.” 

“I think that’s a splendid thing to want to be,” said 
Miss Lee. “Some day when you are better, show me 
some of your pictures, will you? You have some, 
have you not?” 

“I should say I have,” answered Natalie. “I’ve 
been trying to draw all my life, almost. I’ve even 
kept a diary in pictures instead of in words.” A wave 
of pain swept over her and she held Miss Lee’s hand 
tight in both her own. 

“That’s the girl!” said Miss Lee, encouragingly. 
“Hold on tight. It will go away in a minute. After 
all, you have only to stand it minute by minute, did 
you ever think of that? I learned that from my fa- 



Confidences 


29 


ther—a very wise man he was, and a hardy one. He 
had to be to do his job.” 

“What was that?” Natalie asked. 

“A very surprising one,” Miss Lee answered. “He 
was one of the engineers who helped build the Pana- 
ma Canal. Why, Nats, here I have been with you 
several days and I don’t believe I have ever told you 
that I was bom and brought up far away in Panama!” 

“Really,” cried Natalie, interested in spite of the 
pain. “What a funny place to live. Is there anything 
there besides the Canal?” 

“Oh, yes indeed,” said Miss Lee. “There is the 
spick-and-span Canal Zone where the people con¬ 
nected with the work of the Canal live, and where I 
went to school and studied much the same lessons 
as you have here. But right next door, so to speak, 
is the jungle, wild and riotous and almost as untamed 
as it was when Columbus found it, and when Balboa 
hacked his way across it and came out upon the 
Pacific on the other side.” 

“Gee, that’s interesting. But how did you ever 
happen to come up here?” 

“I’m afraid you will laugh at me,” Miss Lee an¬ 
swered. “But to tell the truth it was a nursery rhyme 
of my childhood that started me off —The Night Be - 
fore Christmas. Isn’t that silly? I just had to see snow 
and icicles and sleighs and reindeer, for I thought 
they really did land sleighs on rooftops, you see. 



30 


Natalie 


Leonora’s reindeer were a family joke in our house- 
hold. As a small girl I used to beg and beg for a 
real Christmas, as I called it, up north. So one year 
my father managed it. I came up and stayed with 
my uncle who is a doctor. He and his family live in 
Albany. Living with that doctor-uncle furthered my 
desire to be a nurse.” 

“So did you stay with your uncle and start learn' 
ing to be a nurse then?” Natalie asked. 

“Oh, no indeed. It was many years later, not until 
after my father and mother died, that I came north 
for good. Then I lived with my uncle’s family while 
I took my training. That uncle is a very good friend 
of your Dr. Burgess, by the way. That is how it hap- 
pened that I came here, all the way from Albany to 
take care of you.” 

“And have you stayed up north ever since you 
came that time to study?” 

“Yes, except for one trip about three years ago. 
I went back to Panama and stayed for nearly a year 
getting acquainted all over again with my brother 
and his family. And what fun that was! Can you 
imagine what a three-ring circus a household is that 
contains three girls and two boys, to say nothing of 
a couple of pups, a cat or two, and incidentally a very 
lively mother and father?” 

“It sounds pretty lively. How old are the chil¬ 
dren?” asked Natalie. 



Confidences 


3 i 


“Well, Leonora, my namesake, is about three years 
older than you are, and Peter must be just about a 
year older, and the other three are much younger . 11 

“My it would be fun to live with a big family like 
that ! 11 Natalie exclaimed. “Fve never had any broth¬ 
ers or sisters, although of course Daddy makes him¬ 
self over into anything I want. Sometimes he seems 
like an older brother, and he is always sort of father 
and mother both to me. I don't mean that Aunt Bess 
isn't a darling, only—but look here, Miss Lee, what 
does your brother do down there in Panama?" 

“Oh, he is one of the pilots who take the boats 
through the locks. That's a fascinating job and he 
loves it. He wouldn't live anywhere else but Panama 
and has always made fun of me because I wanted to 
come north to live." 

“But don't you ever get homesick?" 

“Dreadfully! Especially so when I first came north. 
I remember once actually crying in English class over 
a poem that felt like Panama to me and brought back 
so vividly the sights and sounds of my childhood. 
I learned part of it later, the verse that seems like 
Panama," Then she recited in her low, sweet voice: 

“Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus 

Dipping through the tropics by the palm-green shores, 

With a cargo of diamonds, 

Emeralds, amethysts, 

Topazes and cinnamon, and gold moidores.” 



32 


Natalie 


“What a lovely poem ! 11 exclaimed Natalie. 

“Yes, isn't it? And it was written by a man who 
loved the sea as much as I do, but who was lucky 
enough to be more articulate about it. Some day we 
will read more of his poetry, shall we?" 

“Oh, I'd like to," said Natalie. “But tell me more 
about Panama." 

“There are so many things to tell about Panama. 
It's a little country but it has had an exciting past. 
But I'll tell you what I like best, and that's the sea- 
port. It's a wonderful seaport, Natalie. All sorts of 
people from almost every place in the world pass 
through Panama, some even wearing their native 
dress. I have often seen Hindus in high turbans and 
Orientals in very un-American looking clothes, hang¬ 
ing about the docks. And, oh Natalie, such ships! 
All sorts and conditions of ships filled with cargoes 
from all over the world and bound for strange ports 
in the seven seas. Cochineal bark from Peru—that's 
what some dyes are made of—and coffee from Puerto 
Rico, and cocoa and ivory from Ecuador, and nitrate 
from Chile. Can't you imagine what an exciting 
place it is?" 

“I wish I could go there some day," Natalie said, 
drowsily, for the soothing touch of Miss Lee’s hands 
was putting her to sleep. 

“Perhaps we will, my dear," her nurse answered 
softly. “Who knows?" 




“1 thin\ these show real talent'” 

















Confidences 


35 


“I think you are a witch. Miss Lee," Natalie said 
with a yawn. "Don’t you say a kind of Mumbo' 
Jumbo over me to put me to sleep? See, it’s getting 
light. I’ll have just forty winks, as Daddy says, before 
breakfast.” 

While Natalie slept Miss Lee watched her. How 
she wished she really were the witch that Natalie 
called her. How quickly she would charm away the 
pain and make the girl whole and well again. 

As the days went by, Natalie asked her nurse more 
and more questions about the strange land of her 
birth and seemed never to tire of hearing stories of 
the far-off land of Panama which had so captured her 
imagination. In exchange Natalie confided every' 
thing she could remember of her own young life to 
Miss Lee, sometimes illustrating the anecdotes she 
told with her picture diary. They had many a good 
laugh over that diary, for Natalie’s little sketches had 
real humor. 

“Honey," said Miss Lee one day, when Natalie 
was showing her some of her more recent drawings, 
"I’m no art critic, of course, but I think these show 
real talent. What does your father say about them?" 

"Oh, I haven’t shown Daddy this stuff for years!” 
Natalie exclaimed. "He’s a real artist. This junk 
isn’t good enough to show him." 

“All right, miss,” Miss Lee answered, "but I’m 
sure he would be interested.” 



36 


Natalie 


“Well,” said Natalie, “maybe I will some day, if 
I ever make anything that I think is good enough.” 

Natalie had not known that two people could pos- 
sibly know each other as well as she and Miss Lee 
were learning to do. Somehow the secret solitary 
thoughts that everybody has but few people can com- 
municate, came out quite casually in her talks with 
Miss Lee. Was this the way girls talked to their 
mothers, Natalie wondered? 

The house was very quiet most of the day. For 
Daddy was at the office, as they called the newspaper 
where he drew cartoons, and Aunt Bess, who was 
a very busy clubwoman, was away a great deal. Some¬ 
times the mellow voice of “Big Black Glory” as she 
and Daddy secretly called the colored cook, Lucinda, 
would come up from the kitchen. It was a lovely 
voice, and her songs were all very devout. Natalie 
and Miss Lee always stopped whatever they were 
doing or talking about to listen. 

“It’s no use asking her to sing,” Natalie once ex¬ 
plained. “Daddy and I tried that once, and she said, 
'Land sakes, me? Ah cain’t sing, ah jes prays with 
mah lungs!’ ” 

“I’ve heard many beautiful spirituals,” Miss Lee 
said, “but never any that she sings. I wonder where 
she learned them?” 

“She didn’t learn them. She made them up, right 
out of her heart, Dad says, because she needed them.” 



Confidences 


37 


“That’s the best way to sing, and perhaps all great 
songs were made that way—out of the heart because 
the singer needed them. But tell me, how did you 
come to call her Black Glory?” 

Natalie giggled. “I don’t remember about it, of 
course, I was much too little. You see, Miss Lee, 
when I was very little my mother died, and Aunt 
Bess—she’s Daddy’s younger sister, you know—came 
to live with us and bring me up. This old house we 
live in used to belong to my father’s family; it still 
belongs partly to Aunt Bess now. 

“Well, to go on with my story, Aunt Bess adver¬ 
tised for a cook. Daddy says a couple of dozen in¬ 
mates of menageries must have got hold of the ads— 
he made me a picture of the people who came—they 
were all sizes and shapes and ages and colors, he said. 
And he and Aunt Bess interviewed one after another 
of them, until they got more and more discouraged. 
Each applicant had so many good things to say for 
herself, but looked so unpromising. 

“Then Lucinda—that’s Black Glory’s real name, 
you know, Lucinda Marianna Meeker—barged right 
into the room. She was so big and black that Daddy 
said he and Aunt Bess seemed to shrivel right up 
before her eyes. But they plucked up their courage 
and went through the regular questions. 'Can you 
do good plain cooking?’ Aunt Bess asked. 'Me?’ 
shouted Lucinda, 'why, white folks, when you-all 



38 


Natalie 


tastes mah cooking you’ll think you’se gone to 
glory!’ ” 

Miss Lee laughed. “So they took her?’’ 

“Yes, indeed, nothing could have stopped them 
then and she’s been cooking for us ever since and 
that’s been about eleven years.” 

As Natalie began to feel more comfortable she 
found it harder and harder to lie still. Sometimes 
she felt she must get up and walk around the room 
if it killed her. But she really knew better. The 
only way to keep the pain away was to lie perfectly 
still, a difficult thing for an athlete to do. Sometimes 
her eyes wandered to the mantel where the trophies 
she had won in swimming and tennis stood. At first 
she could not bear to think about them, but, as she 
was telling all she could remember to Miss Lee, 
stories of the games she had played would come out. 

“Aunt Bess thinks I’m a terrible tomboy,” she 
once confided. “She doesn’t mind the tennis or the 
swimming. She was awfully pleased when I won the 
Junior Tennis Cup at the Country Club last summer, 
but she thinks I am too old to play baseball with the 
Gang. She hoped I’d give up all that when I got to 
be fourteen and entered high school, but it’s such a 
lot of fun. The Gang says I’m the best shortstop 
they could find. I can pitch pretty well, too.” 

“I was that kind of youngster myself,” Miss Lee 
said. 



Confidences 


39 


“Did you play ball? 1 ' 

“I should rather say I did , 11 said Miss Lee. “I used 
to pitch on the team. I was the only girl on it. Of 
course I thought the reason that the boys let me play 
was because I had such a good curve, but later I 
learned it was because of the baseball which my elder 
brother had given me. That ball had actually been 
used in a World Series and my team thought it would 
bring them luck . 11 

“But Miss Lee, I really am pretty good. I can run 
circles around any girl my age and Fm faster than a 
lot of the boys. All the boys think I am, except 
Arthur Phillips , 11 and her tone was suddenly full of 
scorn. 

“Who is he ? 11 Miss Lee asked. 

“The meanest boy in the world. I hate him ! 11 

“Why, Natalie ! 11 

“Well, I do , 11 Natalie answered defiantly. “He has 
always tried to get my place with the Gang. And he 
tried to get me disqualified on the Relay Race last 
spring on the grounds that I wasn’t a boy! He says 
girls shouldn’t try to do the things I do, that it isn’t 
their place. Imagine! Daddy laughs and says he is 
just an old-fashioned home boy and I am not to mind. 
But the worst of it is Aunt Bess agrees with Arthur! 
And his mother is one of Aunt Bess 1 best friends. 
Well, no matter what old Arthur Phillips says about 
me. I’m one of the best runners in the whole school, 



4° 


Natalie 


girl or no girl. Wait until you see me when Fm well.” 

Leonora Hart turned her face away abruptly. 
“Wait until I see her run,” she repeated to herself. 
“Short of a miracle, I wonder if I ever will?” 







Chapter III 
THE FIRST GUEST 

One afternoon, several days later, while Natalie 
slept and Miss Lee was resting, there was a light tap 
on the door of Natalie’s room. Miss Lee silently 
crossed the room and opened the door to find Aunt 
Bess standing there. 

"How is she, Miss Hart?” Aunt Bess had not urn 
bent sufficiently to call the nurse by her nickname, 
although both Natalie and her father had used the 
convenient abbreviation from the first. 

"About the same, Miss Harding. She is asleep 
now, without any of the medicine, I am glad to say. 
Dr. Burgess and I are so glad when we don’t have 
to use the medicine, for it affects her appetite.” 


41 


42 


Natalie 


“I think I must ask the doctor if Natalie may have 
some of her friends in to call on her. It must be 
dreadfully dull for her,” Aunt Bess said. 

Miss Lee was inwardly amused. Pretty and pert 
and clever Elisabeth Harding undoubtedly was, but 
not overly tactful. Miss Lee was suddenly reminded 
of the time Natalie had remarked, “Aunt Bess is a 
darling, only—" Although Natalie in her loyalty 
would never say more than that, Miss Lee had come 
to understand, as the days went on in that household, 
what Natalie had meant by “only . 11 

“I think we must wait a little while, Miss Harding, 
before we have company. Natalie must not move, 
you see, and it is very hard for her to lie still when 
she gets excited . 11 

Although her aunt and nurse had been speaking 
in whispers, Natalie had overheard them. 

“Oh, but really, Miss Lee, I will lie still , 11 she called. 
“Mayn't I please have just one visitor ? 11 

“If you are quiet all the rest of today and if Dr. 
Burgess agrees we will try one guest for half an hour 
tomorrow afternoon . 11 

“Whom shall I invite , 11 asked Aunt Bess. “Shall 
we have Ruth or Dorothy or — 11 

“Oh, please, Aunt Bess. If I may have only one 
caller, can't it be Teddy?" 

“But," began Elisabeth Harding, then shrugged 
her shoulders. “All right, my dear," she said in a re- 



The First Guest 


43 


signed tone, "Have it your own way. Shall I tele' 
phone the doctor for his permission, Miss Hart? 1 ’ 

"Yes, if you please,” said Miss Lee. "And please 
tell him that Natalie promises to be extra quiet and 
patient if she may have this guest.” 

"Very well,” answered Aunt Bess. "If the doctor 
gives his consent, I shall telephone Mrs. Davis and 
make arrangements for Teddy to come tomorrow.” 

Aunt Bess thought to herself as she left her niece’s 
room that even this dreadful accident had done noth' 
ing to subdue Natalie’s tempestuous character. She 
was devoted to the girl, but she did think it time for 
Natalie to outgrow her tomboy ways. 

How she could prefer the companionship of 
Teddy Davis, two years her junior and a hobblede' 
hoy boy to the nice girls of her own age was beyond 
Aunt Bess’ comprehension. And as for the rowdy 
youngsters on the block with whom Natalie still 
insisted upon playing, although she was in high 
school! Well! Their manners were appalling! Elisa' 
beth Harding had tried to persuade her brother to 
put his foot down and insist that Natalie stop acting 
like such a tomboy. But he had only laughed. 

"She will grow up and get over it one of these 
days,” he had tried to reassure his sister. "In the 
meantime, she is getting strong and husky, learning 
to be a good sport, or to take it, as she would say. 
Let’s let her alone. She will be all right. Why, be' 



44 


Natalie 


fore we know it she will be a grownup young lady. 
Please don't worry about it, Sis." 

“Aunt Bess thinks it's funny that I like Teddy 
better than any of my other friends," Natalie con' 
fided to Miss Lee after her aunt had gone. “Teddy 
is younger than I am, of course, but we have always 
lived next door to each other and played together 
ever since we were babies. He never treats me dif' 
ferently because I am a girl, or has any of those silly 
notions like Arthur Phillips. Do you think it is very 
strange of me to want him to come, Miss Lee?" 

“No I don't, dear. I know that age hasn't much 
to do with friendships. You like a person and want 
him for your friend if you and he understand each 
other. It doesn't have much rhyme or reason, does 
it?" 

“Not a bit," answered Natalie. “Like you and me. 
Just think how much older you are than I am!" 

“Yes," laughed Miss Lee. “And think what good 
friends we are!" 

“Everybody was sure I'd drop Teddy after I got 
to high school," Natalie went on, “and he was still 
in the grades. Of course I don't see him in school 
any more, but things are just the same here on the 
block. It isn't that I don't like my other friends. 
Those two Aunt Bess was talking about, Ruth and 
Dorothy, are grand girls, but they don’t care for 
athletics the way the Gang does." 



The First Guest 


45 


“Soon we will have them in, too,” Miss Lee prom¬ 
ised, “if you give a good account of yourself tomor¬ 
row. But you must lie quiet!” 

“The girls will think I look pretty awful with my 
hair like this, so terribly short,” said Natalie. “I 
certainly hope it will grow out a little before they 
come. Of course I know it’s easier for you to take 
care of this way, Miss Lee. But goodness, how it 
must look!” 

“Nonsense,” laughed Miss Lee. “It is such oblig¬ 
ingly curly hair that it looks well no matter what 
one does with it.” 

“Dorothy has about the prettiest hair I ever saw,” 
said Natalie, “not just an old dumb brown color like 
mine. She is as blonde as Miriam Hopkins. Every¬ 
body tells her she ought to go into the movies.” 

“And does she want to be an actress?” 

“Oh, no. She is crazy about books. She wants to 
be a writer more than anything else. It’s Ruth who 
wants to be an actress, although I don’t think she has 
ever told anyone but me. So you mustn’t let her 
know I told you.” 

“I won’t,” promised Miss Lee. “I’ve spoken to 
them several times already, you know, for they often 
come to the door to ask how you are. One of these 
days we will have a party for all of them. But mean¬ 
while, let’s go slow so that you will not be too tired 
when Teddy calls tomorrow.” 



4 6 


Natalie 


Teddy Davis all washed and brushed, came in at 
about four the next afternoon. He was so quiet and 
subdued that Natalie scarcely knew him. He sat 
primly on the edge of his chair by Natalie’s bed, look' 
ing at her as if she were some strange specimen in a 
glass case. He replied to her questions with a half' 
choked little “Yes” or “No,” and volunteered no 
remarks of his own. Miss Lee finally decided that it 
was her unaccustomed presence that was responsible 
for his reticence, so she tactfully withdrew. That was 
better. Natalie soon drew him out by asking all sorts 
of questions about the Gang. How had the ball games 
been going this spring? Had the tennis courts been 
rolled yet? 

When she asked who was playing shortstop in her 
place on the team, poor Teddy stammered and grew 
red'faced, and finally said sheepishly, “Arthur Phil' 
lips.” 

“What?” asked Natalie in disgust. “That little 
shrimp? Aw, Teddy, you tell the Gang they have 
to get someone else. You know how he acts. He’ll 
try to keep my place, now he’s got it. Don’t you 
remember what he did in last year’s Relay Races? 
He’s always wanted to be on our Nine. Please don’t 
let him stay!” 

“Honest, Nats,” said Teddy. “I didn’t want him 
either, because I know you are sore at him, but the 
rest of the Gang want him. He’s a swell player, Nats. 




“The doctor says you maybe won’t ever walJ(’ 




















































I 






* 


$ 










A 


\ 














The First Guest 


49 


He made two home runs Saturday. The Gang wants 
to keep him. Especially since you—since you can’t— 
since you—” 

"But Teddy, it won’t be very long. The Gang 
isn’t that mean, to hit a fellow when he’s down. Tell 
them their old Arthur Phillips can play now, but as 
soon as I’m well again he’s got to get off the team for 
good.” 

"But Nats, they say you aren’t going to get well 
enough to play.” 

"Who said that?” 

"Your Aunt Bess told my mother. The doctor 
says you maybe won’t ever walk, so how can you 
play on the team?” 

"Oh, Teddy, Teddy, are you sure, did you really 
hear your mother say that?” 

"Of course I’m sure, Nats. All the Gang knows 
that. Aw gee, Nats, I didn’t mean to make you cry. 
Aw shucks!” The poor boy walked over to the bed 
and sat down beside Natalie, awkwardly dabbing at 
her head with his sweaty little hand. 

"Go away, Teddy, go away!” sobbed Natalie. 

Teddy stumbled down the stairs, his heart heavy 
with the disaster he had thoughtlessly caused. Soon 
Miss Lee was kneeling beside the sobbing girl. 

"Why did you all lie to me,” the child spoke 
through her heartbreaking sobs, "oh, why did you 
lie to me?” 



50 


Natalie 


“Natalie, child,” said Miss Lee, “we didn’t lie.” 

“You did, you said it would be a long time, but—” 

“Look here, Natalie, I’m going to treat you like a 
woman. You’re almost one now. What is it, fifteen 
your next birthday? Well, we hope and think you 
are going to be all right again. But you will be in 
bed for a long time.” 

“How long?” 

“We don’t know. If I knew I would tell you. But 
this I promise, I will tell you. You and I and the doc' 
tor and your father will fight this thing and win. 
Now then, heads up. Be a good soldier. I promise 
to help you as long as you need me. Is that a bar- 
gain?” 

“Yes.” 

Leonora Hart stooped to kiss her. “Now, dear, 
let’s have some rest. Drink this and let’s be quiet 
and see if sleep won’t come.” 

But it was a long time before sleep came. The 
poor child lay sobbing quietly, her hot little hand in 
Miss Lee’s cool one. Just before she fell asleep she 
whispered, “Don’t let them scold Teddy for telling 
me. I’m glad I know.” So Miss Lee pro mis ed 





Chapter IV 

MINNIE MIS'HAP TO THE RESCUE 


There was not much change in the life at Harding 
Hall before summer. Early in July Aunt Bess was 
asked to chaperone a party of students to Europe. 
At first she refused to leave her sick family. 

“Be fair to yourself, Bess,” Daddy remonstrated. 
“Don’t stay because of us two. Besides, isn’t Miss 
Lee here, and Black Glory?’’ So Aunt Bess finally 
went. 


5i 


52 


Natalie 


It was very quiet on Natalie’s street. Most of the 
parents of the Gang had taken their children and 
gone off to one summer resort or another for the hot 
weather. The Camp at Georgian Bay which was 
Natalie and her father’s pride and joy was leased for 
the summer. 

Natalie tried to persuade her father to go to the 
Camp without her, but he stoutly refused. “Why 
I’d get lost without you to boss me around, Nats,’’ 
he protested, winking at Miss Lee. “Heaven knows 
what kind of a jam I’d get myself into. Don’t you 
remember the time I was sketching in the canoe and 
I let the paddle float off? If you hadn’t been such 
a good swimmer we’d be floating around in old Tyler- 
Too yet!’’ 

“Wait a minute,” cried Miss Lee. “You two go 
too fast for me. First of all, what is Tyler-Too?” 

“Now, Miss Lee, don’t tell me you have so far 
forgotten your American history that you don’t re' 
member that we once had a president called Tippe¬ 
canoe and his running mate was Tyler-Too?” 

“Yes, but why call your canoe Tyler-Too? Why 
didn’t you name yours for the president?” 

“Now how do you explain that, Nats?” Daddy 
asked solemnly. “How do you explain to a sensible 
lady that everybody else calls their canoes Tippe¬ 
canoe so that’s why the Hardings call theirs Tyler- 
Too?” 



Minnie Mis-hap to the Rescue 


53 


“You funny people!" said Miss Lee. She was leam- 
ing to know this little family so well, having been 
through so much with them, that the old reserve 
of nurse to patient and to employer was gradually 
being broken down. To see and hear them one 
would have thought they were very old and dear 
friends. 

"Go on," commanded Miss Lee. 

"Well, you see, Miss Lee, Daddy the Dreamer 
and I were out in the canoe one day just moseying 
around when Dad got an idea for a sketch. So he did 
a very poor and unwoodsman-like job of beaching 
the paddle." 

"And the law of gravity intervened," interposed 
Daddy. 

"Yes," said Natalie, "and off floated the paddle 
'way out of reach." 

"Whereupon Natalie Harding, the dauntless and 
brave, seeing the predicament which her absent- 
minded father had placed them in, stood up in the 
canoe, all but upsetting the poor wretch, and swam 
nimbly after the paddle. Honestly, Miss Lee," 
Daddy went on, "I fully expected her to bring it 
back in her mouth like a well-trained retriever." 

"And did she?" asked Miss Lee, with a twinkle 
in her eye. 

"Silly!” said Natalie. "Of course not. But I can 
swim with one hand as well as anyone—or I could. 



54 


Natalie 


I mean.” There was a little catch in her voice. It 
was so hard to remember, and remembering, so hard 
to bear. 

“Why, I remember that incident,” exclaimed Miss 
Lee, “You had it in Minnie Mis-hap, didn't you?” 

“Did you know Minnie before you came here?” 
Natalie asked in surprise. 

“Of course. Don't forget that Minnie Mis-hap is 
in the Albany paper too. I follow her every day. 
By the way, Mr. Harding, I've always wanted to ask 
you how you ever came to think up Minnie.” 

“I'll tell you,” said Natalie. “I had been very sick 
with flu and while I was convalescing, Dad drew pic- 
tures of this silly person who was always upsetting 
things and having accidents, just to amuse me. You 
see in those days, Miss Lee, Dad was a serious artist 
doing portraits of people, and so forth.” 

“When they wanted any,” put in Daddy, “which 
wasn’t often enough to do anything about the wolf- 
at-the-door.” 

“Well, they were beautiful pictures even if very 
few people ever bought them,” Natalie said loyally. 

“So then what happened?” asked Miss Lee. 

“Well, I laughed so much at the drawings that 
Daddy went on making more and more of them and 
sold them to the Daily News , although he said they 
were so easy to do that it was a shame to take the 
money. First we called the character Sloppy-weather 



Minnie Mis-hap to the Rescue 


55 


but later we changed her name to Minnie Mis-hap.” 

“So that was the birth of Minnie?” asked Miss Lee. 

“Yes,” said Daddy, “and the luckiest case of flu 
you ever saw. Our family fortunes took an upturn 
then and there, when I stopped being a hack artist 
and became a comic strip maker. Natalie and I have 
had a lot of fun thinking up plots for Minnie's strip. 
She's been a big help to me there. She's sort of Min¬ 
nie’s godmother, you see.” 

Natalie's eyes were shining. 

“We all think up plots, even Aunt Bess. Don't 
you remember, Dad, a long time ago when you 
bought that second-hand station wagon and you and 
Aunt Bess and I went on a picnic and got stuck in 
the mud on the way home? Poor Aunt Bess was 
due at a committee meeting at the Y.W. and we 
thought she would be awfully cross, but all she said 
was, 'More grist for Minnie's mill, I suppose.' ” 

They all laughed. “And a couple of years ago 
Minnie was syndicated all over the state. Oh, weren't 
we glad when the syndication happened, Dad?” Nat¬ 
alie asked. “It meant we could buy the Camp and 
do lots of things we had always wanted to, Miss Lee.” 

The three were sipping their iced tea out on the 
sleeping porch that adjoined Natalie's bedroom. Nat¬ 
alie spent most of her time here. Now that she had 
a bed that moved around, and one that could be ad¬ 
justed to different angles, she was much freer and 



56 


Natalie 


more comfortable. She had been writing little notes’ 
that day, and one to Aunt Bess was lying on the 
bed. In it Natalie had drawn a little caricature of 
herself in what she called “the bed that sits up”, to 
show her aunt. Daddy picked up the sketch. 

“May I see this, Nats?” he asked, and when she 
nodded he studied it carefully. 

“By Jove, my dear, that’s good. Why honey, that’s 
much better drawn than anything of yours I’ve ever 
seen before. Look, Miss Lee.” 

Natalie was pleased. She knew that her father was 
supercritical about drawing and did not praise easily. 

“Why, I think that’s splendid,” Miss Lee said. “Not 
that I know anything about drawing, of course.” 

“Oh, Daddy,” said Natalie, “I can do better than 
that!” 

“Why don’t we show your father the picture 
diaries that you let me see that day?” Miss Lee sug¬ 
gested. 

“Okay,” said Natalie. “Get them out if you want 
to while I hide my blushes.” 

Donald Harding pored over the scrap books for 
several minutes before he spoke again. Then, “Miss 
Natalie Harding,” he said, pretending to be stem, 
“may I ask why I have not been allowed to see these 
books before? Just why have you been holding back 
on me?” 

“Because I didn’t think they were good enough to 



Minnie Mis-hap to the Rescue 


57 


let a real artist see, Dad. I used to show you the ones 
I did a couple of years ago when I was a kid, and 
then the only ones that were any good at all were 
those I did with you holding my hand and guiding 
the pencil. But this stuff—” she finished scornfully. 

“My dear, you are much too modest,” her father 
answered. 

“There!” said Miss Lee. “What did I tell you?” 

“Look here, Nats,” Daddy said. “Do all of this 
you can. Of course, don't tire yourself, because get' 
ting well is Job Number One for you. But get into 
the habit of thinking in lines. Even if you have en' 
ergy enough to try only a few strokes each day. 
When you lie here talking to Miss Lee, put the peo' 
pie you are talking about into lines on paper. Fll 
bring you some good lightweight sketching pads and 
some proper pencils.” Daddy's voice sounded very 
excited. 

Just then the warm voice of Black Glory swept up 
to them. Quick as a wink Natalie seised her pencil 
and pad and drew a few swift lines of the large black 
treasure, her mouth opened wide in song. 

“To the life!” exclaimed Daddy. “And just a little 
funnier than fact ever is. That's the trick of a good 
cartoon. Bless your heart, you'll have to hurry up 
and get well. There’s Art School ahead for you, my 
girl!” 

For a moment—a long, happy moment—Natalie 



58 


Natalie 


forgot the pain and the fear in a beautiful daydream 
of a huge studio somewhere away up in the clouds 
atop a New York apartment house, with Daddy and 
herself seated side by side at their easels. 

Suddenly she remembered that her father had not 
shown her any new sketches of Minnie since their 
accident. 

“Dad,'” she said, “I haven't seen any new sketches 
of Minnie for ever so long. Haven’t you any new 
ones to show me?” 

Her father’s face was a study. Natalie had never 
seen him look like that before. He looked almost 
as if he were afraid of something. 

“I—I haven’t been making any new ones lately, 
Nats,” he said quietly. 

"Why not, Dad? They haven’t given up the strip, 
I know. Miss Lee and I see it in the paper every 
day.” 

“Those are old ones. I was away ahead of myself 
on sketches before we had our accident, and we had 
a lot to use up.” 

"What are you going to do when they are gone?” 
asked Natalie. "You must hurry up and make more.” 

"Well,” answered her father reluctantly, "maybe 
we’ll sell the idea to another cartoonist when they 
are gone.” 

"Sell Minnie? Why Dad, you might as well talk 
about selling me. Please tell me all about it. I can’t 



Minnie Mis-hap to the Rescue 


59 


stand it if I don't know the truth about things. Miss 
Lee and I have a pact that she will tell me all about 
my case. It's terrible to have important things kept 
secret." 

Miss Lee and Natalie's father exchanged a long 
look. “I think I would tell Natalie if I were you, Mr. 
Harding," Miss Lee said in her soft, low voice. 

“All right, Nats, here goes. Look here." He 
stretched his long, slender fingers toward her. “It 
was more than a broken hand I had. My hand was 
burned by the gasoline. A lot of the pain came from 
the bum, although I didn't have sense enough to 
know it at the time. And the dam old fingers healed 
up crooked. Fact is, at the moment, I can't draw 
at all. I've been trying to be patient about it, think- 
ing that it will get better soon. Now the doctor says 
that they must cut the skin and let it heal all over 
again. He thinks that after that is done my hand can 
be massaged and everything will be all right. But 
meanwhile—well—now you see why I haven't been 
able to make any new Minnie strips." 

Natalie reached over and patted the poor crooked 
hand. “Oh, Daddy," she cried, “why didn't you tell 
me!" He put his arm around her and she rested her 
head upon his shoulder. Miss Lee tiptoed away. 

“But Dad," Natalie asked after awhile, “what do 
you do at the office all day if you aren't drawing 
Minnie?" 



6o 


Natalie 


“Oh, I help around. They consult me about pic- 
tures and I go out and get advertising. I keep pretty 
busy.” 

“Do they pay you?” 

“Why, of course, silly. Do you think I am so big' 
hearted that I would work for nothing? Of course, 
since we seem to be playing Truth, I’ll have to con' 
fess that after all the Minnie pictures are used up, it 
won't be as much.” 

“Then will we be poor, Dad?” 

“I don't think so, my dear. If I can't get going on 
the strip again, I am sure I shall be able to pick up 
other work. And please don't worry your head about 
it or I shall be sorry I told you.” 

“I won't, Dad, but I think you're a brick.” 

“The same to you, Cap'n,” answered Daddy. “But 
it’s funny about Minnie Mis'hap,” her father con' 
tinued. “Lots of other comic strips are drawn by 
people other than the artist who created the charac' 
ter. Take Mr. and Mrs. for instance. After Briggs 
died, other people drew them just the same. But we 
tried Minnie out on a couple of artists and they didn't 
seem to get the hang of it. Then we decided that I 
would supply new stories but we would use the same 
old pictures posed differently, but somehow I haven't 
been able to think up any good new plots for 
Minnie.” 

Natalie said nothing but she wondered if perhaps 



Minnie Mis-hap to the Rescue 


61 


she couldn't help bring Minnie back to life again. 
Her father's praise of her sketches had given her a 
confidence in her own ability far greater than she had 
ever before known. 

She determined to trace the figure of Minnie many 
times in many poses from cartoons already printed 
until she got the knack of it. Then, perhaps, who 
knew? Maybe she could take some of her father's 
discarded sketches and fix them up a bit to fill in the 
time until his hand should be really healed and he 
could draw again. No wonder other artists could not 
get the hang of Minnie Mis-hap, no matter how 
clever they were, thought Natalie. Minnie was their 
character, hers and her father's! 

So, without telling her father why she wanted 
them, she asked him to bring in his Minnie Mis-hap 
scrap book and also his portfolio of half-finished and 
discarded sketches for her to look at, just for fun. 
Natalie confided the whole plot to Miss Lee who 
thereafter obligingly hid Natalie's drawings when¬ 
ever Mr. Harding came into the room. 

Then one day, Natalie had a drawing that suited 
her. She had adapted one of her father’s old sketches 
and made a picture of Minnie Mis-hap trudging up 
a steep hill, laden with bundles and bags, a parrot 
cage, a kitten, a hatbox, all askew. And out of her 
mouth a banner floated which said, "Goodbye, every¬ 
body, I'm retiring to the Old Folks Home." 



62 


Natalie 


That night Natalie showed the sketch to her fa- 
ther. And never in her life had she been so happy. 
“Nats, my angel, my lifesaver,” Daddy shouted like 
a boy. “You’ve rung the bell! We’ll publish this 
and see how our readers take it, and, if they want 
more Minnie Mis'hap pictures, you will draw them 
and together we will think up plots!” 

Daddy looked younger than he had since the day 
when he and Nats took the ilhfated Bobolink on her 
maiden voyage. 






UNCLE BILL 


Daddy was as good as his word. A few days later 
there appeared in the Buffalo Daily News and in the 
other papers throughout the state in which Minnie 
Mis-hap was syndicated, the cartoon drawn by Nata- 
lie. Not a strip, this time, just the picture with the 
caption, “Farewell to Minnie.” And the next day 
and every day for a week the Daily News and many 
of the other papers received letters and even tele¬ 
grams from their irate readers protesting Minnie’s 
retirement. 

Natalie and Daddy had a wonderful time reading 
the letters. They seemed to come from every sort 
63 



6 4 


Natalie 


and condition of newspaper reader. One old man 
had written in a very shaky hand, “Tell Minnie she 
ought to be ashamed of herself for retiring so young. 
I am eighty-three and still working as a watchman 
for the Brancheville Railroad." And another which 
brought tears to Natalie's eyes read, “I'm a little 
girl of ten. I been sick in bed for 3 years. Pleeze 
don't stop Minnie. I reed her every day." 

Of course there was no stopping her now. Daddy 
talked the matter over carefully with Dr. Burgess and 
Miss Lee, and they decided that a few hours' work 
a week adapting Daddy's old Minnie Mis-hap 
sketches would not hurt Natalie. Besides the feeling 
of usefulness that the work gave her, would be an 
excellent tonic. 

Now the ideas for Minnie Mis'hap came rushing 
back into her father's head. They had very jolly days 
in which Miss Lee shared. Summer crept into autumn 
and the Gang came back almost before Natalie re- 
aliped it. 

Dr. Burgess said she could have callers all the time 
now, provided she did not move around and that 
only a few came at one time. Natalie was looking 
forward to the visits with the old Star Dusters as the 
Gang called themselves. She would check up with 
them on the events in the world of sports on which 
they prided themselves that they were well informed. 
She would listen to their tales of summer activities, 



Uncle Bill 


65 


for she was sure she had schooled herself against 
envy. 

Most important of all she would help them make 
plans for the coming football and hockey season. 
They could talk over tactics and signals with her, 
even if she could not actually play. Natalie planned 
that her sickroom was to be a kind of clubhouse for 
the Gang, where they would foregather after school. 

To her surprise and great disappointment, it did 
not work out like that at all. The boys were self" 
conscious in her presence. They felt it unkind of 
them to tell her of their own good times, of their 
swimming and fishing expeditions, of their hikes and 
the many out'ofidoor activities that had occupied 
them all summer. Worst of all, they found it all but 
impossible to keep the name of their new leader, 
Arthur Phillips, out of their conversation. And 
Natalie Harding could not hear that name without 
a wave of angry resentment. Arthur Phillips had 
usurped her place, that was all too clear. 

Except for Teddy, Natalie came to care less and 
less for the Gang. She could not make them talk of 
sports, and short of sports, she found they had little 
interest in anything else. She had to admit to herself 
that she enjoyed talking to Miss Lee or planning a 
new Minnie strip with her father much more than 
trying to talk with the Gang. Then, too, she was 
enjoying, more than she would ever have believed, 



66 


Natalie 


the visits of some of the girls of whom her aunt had 
so highly approved. 

Chief among her friends were Ruth and Dorothy, 
the would-be author and the would-be actress. They 
and Natalie called themselves the Three A Club, 
actress, author and artist, and held long, secret ses¬ 
sions making plans for a brilliant future which they 
would some day share. In this plan no boys were 
ever included. “They are a lot of hooey,” Ruth said, 
with a toss of her blonde head. “Boys just clutter 
up the landscape, and don't get you anywhere.” 

“But they're fun, sometimes,” protested Dorothy, 
“especially at dances.” 

“Yes,” Ruth reluctantly admitted. “But you can't 
just dance all your life.” 

Harding Hall was a scene of much excitement 
these days, for the family received word that Aunt 
Bess was coming home. All of a sudden her letters 
had taken on a different tone. They were full of lov¬ 
ing remarks about the family and of her eagerness to 
get back to them. At the beginning of her European 
journey her letters had been what Donald Harding 
had called “very authentic travelogues.” Little by 
little, however, he had noticed repeated references 
to a Doctor Rodgers, which changed to Dr. William 
Rodgers, then to Bill Rodgers and once, just once, 
simply Bill. Apparently this young doctor and his 
sister were seeing a good deal of each other. 



Uncle Bill 


67 


In the last letter which would arrive before Aunt 
Bess’ boat docked at New York City, was an item 
which interested Natalie and her father a great deal. 
“Bill Rodgers has been taking some highly advanced 
work with a famous surgeon in Vienna. He will be 
connected with one of the leading hospitals in 
New York specializing in operating on patients given 
up as hopeless invalids. He wants very much to come 
up and look Natalie over before he settles in New 
York, so I would like to bring him home with me. 
Please don’t bother to come to New York to meet 
the boat. Bill and I can get along quite nicely, and 
I’m sure you won’t want to leave Natalie.” 

They spoke to Dr. Burgess of this who said that he 
had heard that Dr. Rodgers was a very brilliant 
young surgeon and that he would be delighted to talk 
over the possibility of an operation with him. Donald 
Harding breathed a sigh of relief. He knew his sis' 
ter’s forthright way of going about things that she 
thought should be done, without bothering to keep 
off people’s toes. Miss Lee also confessed some worry 
on the matter, so they were delighted at the sensible 
and cooperative spirit of the old doctor. 

“Not that we would let anybody’s hurt feelings 
stand in the way of having our Nats able to walk 
again,” Daddy said. 

And now Natalie, who had been secretly dreading 
the return of her rather proper aunt, though she was 



68 


Natalie 


much too loyal to confess it even to Daddy and Miss 
Lee, began counting the days until Aunt Bess' arrival. 

The great day came at last. Daddy and Miss Lee 
had decorated the whole house with special attention 
to Natalie's own room. Natalie had drawn a per- 
fectly ridiculous picture of Minnie Mis'hap getting 
all tangled up in a large streamer on which was writ' 
ten “Welcome Home." Minnie was attempting to 
hang it across the front of Harding Hall. Lucinda 
had outdone herself in preparing dainties. 

The family decided that it would be a little too 
wearing for Natalie to have the first dinner of state 
served in her room, although the three of them had 
eaten most of their suppers on Natalie’s sleeping 
porch during the summer. So she and Miss Lee were 
to have their meal quietly alone. The rest of the 
party would join them for coffee and sweets after' 
wards. 

Natalie could hardly believe her eyes when she saw 
Aunt Bess. Always before her aunt had practically 
disguised her good looks in what Daddy called her 
“worthy worker clothes." But here she was with a 
saucy little hat perched on one side of her head, and 
an outfit that even a blind man would know smacked 
of Paris shops. And she was radiantly happy. It 
was easy to see why, when she and the young doctor 
looked at each other. And if there was any lingering 
doubt in Natalie's mind it was dispelled when she 



Uncle Bill 


69 


said, “I’m very glad to meet you, Dr. Rodgers,” and 
he had answered. 

“Just let’s say Uncle Bill, shall we, Nats?” 

Talking about it afterward alone with Miss Lee, 
Natalie remarked that never before in her life had 
she seen Aunt Bess blush. 

Next morning came the long examination and com 
sultation with Dr. Burgess. Natalie tried hard to bear 
it. But it hurt and it was dreadfully hard to keep the 
tears back. She did pretty well, however. Well 
enough to have Dr. Bill say, when it was over, 
“You’re a plucky kid, all right.” 

To which dear old Dr. Burgess responded, “A 
braver little woman never lived, Doctor.” It sounded 
rather sentimental, Natalie thought, but she did like 
hearing Dr. Burgess call her that! 

The two doctors and Donald Harding were clos' 
eted in her father’s study for a long while. At last 
the three of them, looking very solemn, came into 
her room. 

“Natalie,” said Dr. Rodgers, “your father here 
says that he and your nurse and you have been talk' 
ing about all this very frankly since your accident. 
And he wants me to tell you just what we think and 
let you decide what you want us to do. Shall we?” 

“Yes, please.” 

“All right. This is very serious, and I want you 
to think about it hard and let me know after you 



70 


Natalie 


have. Don’t decide hastily. All we can say is that 
we hope an operation will be successful. I have seen 
this done before; I have done it several times in 
Vienna. Once a boy worse off than you are was able 
to walk after being bed-ridden for five years. But it 
doesn’t always succeed. Now then, it means many 
months in the hospital. And it means a certain 
amount of pain. You have plenty of time, and we 
know you can stand pain and we will make it as easy 
as possible for you, of course. But the worst is the 
uncertainty. You are happy here with your father 
and your good nurse and you have even helped be 
breadwinner with your cartoons. All that you will 
have to give up for awhile.” 

“And if it doesn’t succeed,” asked Natalie in a 
quiet little voice, “what will happen? Will I be 
worse off than I am now, or just the same?” 

“After awhile about the same,” said Dr. Bill. 

“Then how can you all ask?” Natalie demanded. 
“Of course I’ll take a chance. There’s only one rea¬ 
son that would make me hesitate. I know we haven’t 
much money. Can we afford it, Daddy?” she asked, 
turning to her father. 

Donald Harding did not trust himself to speak. He 
just nodded his head. And Aunt Bess said, quickly, 
“There won’t be any charge for the operation, my 
pet. Bill is giving it to me for my wedding present.” 

Natalie turned shining eyes to Dr. Bill. Her new, 



Uncle Bill 


7i 


grown-up manners left her, and she reverted to the 
little tomboy, the pride of the Gang and the despair 
of her aunt. 

‘’'Gosh, Uncle Bill,” she cried, “you’re one swell 

egg!” 

“Well,” said Dr. Bill, “now that’s settled! Let’s 
draw up our plans. I think I should have a week or 
two to find my way around in the new hospital before 
Natalie comes and then she should be there another 
few weeks for observation and building up before the 
operation. Not that she isn’t in fine shape, thanks to 
Dr. Burgess and Miss Hart. And during that time, 
we’ll get that hand of yours in shape, Donald. For 
the first week or so, you and Natalie will be there 
together and you can visit with her each day and 
keep each from getting lonely.” 

Busy days followed. Natalie and her father fairly 
spilled ideas for Minnie. They determined to leave 
enough material behind to last for the time Donald 
Harding would be away. After that he would be able 
to draw the pictures himself. Dr. Bill was sure of 
that. 

One day a great ambulance drove up to the door. 
Natalie was carried down from her room on a 
stretcher and put inside on a comfortable bed. There 
was a seat beside it for Miss Lee, who was going to 
ride all the way into New York with her. And 
Daddy was to sit up in front with the driver. It was 



72 


Natalie 


a long trip, but they planned to stop and rest along 
the way. 

Quite a crowd was gathered in the grounds of 
Harding Hall. Big Black Glory stood on the steps, 
wiping her eyes on her copious white apron. The 
Gang stood sheepishly at the doorway. Ruth and 
Dorothy and several other girls, brought bouquets of 
flowers. Just before the driver started, a dishevelled 
little boy, hatless, and with a tear-stained face ran up 
to the car and handed Miss Lee a soiled envelope. It 
was Teddy Davis. 

Everyone waved and called “Good-bye and good 
luck!” and Natalie waved back as best she could. 
When they were out of sight of the house Natalie 
asked Miss Lee to read her Teddy’s letter. 

Dear Nats: 

When you come back you can have your place on 
the team if I have to kick A. Phillips off with my 
own hands. 

Your pal, 

Ted. 

Natalie smiled to herself. It was sweet of Teddy, 
she thought, but she knew that whatever was in 
store for her, her tomboy days with the Gang were 
over. 




CUZ-Z£N DICK 


Chapter VI 

WARD DELIVERANCE 

Forever afterwards, whenever Natalie Harding 
saw a quantity of white tile, or smelled disinfectant 
or heard the plop'plop of rubber heels on a hard sur- 
face, something in her mind said “hospital.” 

It was so big and strange and impersonal a place! 
The tiled corridors seemed to stretch for endless 
miles. The quiet, white-clad people who scurried 
along them had no word for her. At first she felt 
terribly frightened and alone. 

“The way to get along in a new or difficult sit- 
uation,” her father had once told her, “is to pretend 
73 


74 


Natalie 


it isn’t happening to you at all. Just play you are on 
the outside of yourself watching a show. Then, when 
you get used to it, slip back into your own skin and 
be yourself again.” 

Like most of Daddy’s advice she had found this 
useful. It had worked wonderfully well the time she 
had skinned her arm from wrist to shoulder when 
she slid to second base during the Star Dusters’ mem- 
orable game with the Katydids. It was then she 
gained her enviable reputation as the girl who never 
cried. The Star Dusters had boasted about her ever 
since. 

Now she must try to imagine that she was someone 
else being admitted to a huge white hospital, even 
when they lifted her from the stretcher to the bed 
and it hurt so dreadfully. She kept on pretending as 
she surveyed her new home in the semi-private ward 
and the five little occupants with whom she was to 
share it. But saying good-bye to Leonora Hart, who 
was prohibited by hospital rules from nursing here, 
was quite another matter. 

“I mustn’t let these kids see me cry,” Natalie whis¬ 
pered, as she held Miss Lee close. “But oh, Miss Lee, 
I don’t know how to get along without you. Must 
you really leave me?” 

Leonora Hart’s eyes blurred. “Yes, I must, dar¬ 
ling,” she whispered huskily. “But as soon as you are 
able to leave the hospital, I’ll come back and take 



Ward Deliverance 


75 


care of you and stay with you as long as you need me. 
Work hard and get well, dear.” 

So there was nothing else to be done. And being 
three years older than the eldest of the small patients 
in the ward, Natalie felt she should set them a good 
example. She and her father, in the usual Harding 
manner, christened the small patients The Five Little 
Cheepers because they sounded exactly like baby 
sparrows cheeping and chirping away about nothing 
at all the livelong day. 

The Little Cheepers took Natalie to their hearts, 
very proud at having a big girl in their ward. They 
vied with one another for her favor, and soon were 
obeying her every word, much to the relief and de¬ 
light of the harassed nurses in charge. 

“I declare,” the head nurse said to Natalie’s father, 
“I don’t know how we managed before Natalie came 
here. Ward D has become a different place. We 
used to say D stood for difficult, for they were the 
worst behaved youngsters in the whole hospital. But 
now they are good as gold.” 

“Good girl, Nats,” her father said on his next visit. 
“Nurse tells me you’ve changed the name of Ward 
Difficult to Ward Delight!” 

“Let’s call it Ward Deliverance, Daddy,” answered 
Natalie soberly. 

They looked around the room at the little crippled 
people in their small, white beds, who in spite of 



76 


Natalie 


their suffering were able to laugh and play. And it 
was bom afresh, in Donald Harding’s mind, that hu' 
man beings, little or big, are made of splendid stuff. 

Natalie’s favorite of all her roommates was Mam- 
jita, a small girl of eight, who was, as she explained, 
half South American and half North American. 
Marujita’s father, who had married her beautiful 
mother while he was stationed in one of the Consular 
posts in Ecuador, was dead. And her mother had 
brought the child, suffering from infantile paralysis, 
to New York to have several operations performed so 
that she could walk properly. “I always limp'walk,” 
she explained gravely to Natalie. 

Each day at visiting hour, Marujita’s beautiful, 
extravagant mother came sailing into the ward with 
a bag of forbidden goodies. She always managed to 
smuggle them in despite the watchful eyes of the 
nurse in charge. Marujita accepted the gifts and po' 
litely thanked her mother, then as soon as her mother 
left, turned the presents over to the nurse. 

“I confiscated the first lot,” the head nurse told 
Natalie. “But when I explained to Marujita that 
those sweet things would make it harder for her to 
get well, I never had to take them away by force 
again. She always calls me over and hands them to 
me without a murmur, although it is sometimes ah 
most more than I can bear to do it. She looks at them 
so longingly.” 



Ward Deliverance 


77 


“Why don’t you tell her mother not to bring 
them?” Natalie asked. 

“Oh, dear, we have, again and again. But she only 
shrugs her shoulders and promises, and next day 
brings an even more gaudy cake to add to the candy. 
Marujita said to me one day, 'Don’t tell her no thing. 
I no eat. She like bring.’ ” 

“Poor little kid!” said Natalie. 

Marujita’s efforts to “spik good the English” were 
a source of much amusement to Natalie. She prom¬ 
ised to help the child, although she secretly hated to 
have Marujita lose her quaint speech. 

One of Marujita’s guests was a young man of 
twenty whom she called “my Cuz-zen Dick.” At 
first Natalie thought him one of the most untidy 
young men she had ever seen, for his necktie was 
always askew, and he practically never remembered 
to wear either hat or gloves. She forgot her disap¬ 
proval of him, however, when she saw how devoted 
he was to his funny little cousin. Every morning the 
nurse brought Marujita a letter from Dick. Marujita 
shared these letters with Natalie, and, indeed, she 
sometimes needed the older girl’s help in understand¬ 
ing them. Apparently they were all part of a long, 
continued story which he was sending his little cousin, 
profusely illustrated with clever pen and ink draw¬ 
ings. 

Natalie was glad when Dick came to see Marujita. 



78 


Natalie 


He was a very likeable young man, for all his care' 
less appearance, with a friendly, outgoing manner and 
a joke for everyone. Soon he was including Natalie 
in his good-natured banter. 

He seemed very much pleased when Natalie told 
him how much she was enjoying the illustrated story 
he was sending Marujita. 

“I know a thing or two about drawing myself,” 
she confided to him. “Enough to know what’s good 
and what isn’t, anyway.” 

While Marujita listened to this grown-up talk with 
wide-eyed wonder, Dick laughingly confessed that 
he was trying to learn to be a real artist and was at¬ 
tending art school at night as he had a full time job 
during the day. 

“All of which hurries me some,” he told Natalie. 

After Natalie recovered from the ill effects of the 
long journey, she grew impatient to have the opera¬ 
tion over and done with. She was secretly dreading 
it, more than she would ever admit. What were they 
going to do to her while she was lying there, asleep 
and unknowing? 

As always with Natalie, it was the fear of the un¬ 
known that worried her and set her vivid imagination 
to work. So she asked Dr. Bill, whom she always 
remembered to call Dr. Rodgers with great respect, 
whenever he came into the ward, to tell her all about 
it. Seeing that he had a patient with an inquiring 



Ward Deliverance 


79 


mind, he brought charts and diagrams and explained 
in detail what was to be done. How the nurses shook 
their heads in disapproval at such unheard-of pro¬ 
cedure! 

“Natalie is taking a really scientific interest in her 
operation, Donald,” Dr. Bill explained to Natalie’s 
father. “No doubt I am breaking a lot of precedents 
in telling her the facts about it, but I think it’s the 
right way to treat a girl like her.” 

“I agree,” answered Donald Harding. “Natalie be¬ 
lieves that it’s what you don’t know that does hurt 
you. She has always been like that.” 

One morning Natalie knew the time for the opera¬ 
tion had come when two nurses appeared bearing 
strange-looking garments that made her think of an 
Eskimo’s leggings. In these they encased her legs. 
She was wheeled off along the hall, with the cries 
of the Little Cheepers wishing her good luck ringing 
in her ears. 

Her father was awaiting her by the elevator, which 
was to carry her up to the operating room. She 
smiled bravely at him although she had a strange, 
all-gone feeling inside her, very much like a bad case 
of stage fright mixed with homesickness. 

“Here’s a thought to take into ether-land with you, 
Nats,” he said. “Look!” And he stretched out his 
hand for her to see. The bandage had been removed, 
and his scarred fingers were as straight as ever. 



8o 


Natalie 


“Oh, Daddy, how wonderful!” Natalie cried, 
“now you will be able to draw again!” 

“Indeed I will. And as soon as you get through 
the worst of this I must hustle back to Buffalo and 
take care of Minnie Mis-hap. I have been neglecting 
that young lady shamefully!” 

They were riding up in the elevator together when 
Daddy leaned over and said, softly, “You are going 
to have a well back, just as I have a well hand, Nats. 
Well both be straight and strong again. Believe that 
with all your might and main. Think about it when 
you go off to sleep and when you wake up. We'll 
all be waiting for you. Now then, Captain, eyes 
front. Forward march!” 

“Aye, aye, sir,” responded Natalie, and hoped her 
father had not noticed how her voice was shaking. 

They wheeled her into a great white room with 
high ceilings and strong, bright lights. Figures clad 
in white from head to toe, with strange-looking 
masks over their noses and mouths, hurried about, 
solemn and important. One of the figures said cheer¬ 
fully, “Good Morning, Natalie,” and she realised that 
it was Dr. Bill, smiling at her as best he could with 
that queer-looking mask on his face. 

Natalie smiled back and they chatted quietly while 
Natalie was lifted upon the table and Dr. Bill and 
another strange, masked figure bent over her. 

Soon Natalie was very drowsy, very—ve-r-y 



Ward Deliverance 


81 


drooowsy, and the room was whirling and whirrrrr- 
ling and whirrrrrrrrrrling around and she was 
whirrrrrrrrrrrrling, too, on what seemed to be the 
spoke of a great wheel, whirrrrrr. . . . 

After a long time she heard a voice say, “’Hello, 
darling,” 

That sounded like Daddy, she thought, but she 
wasn’t sure. 

Then far away, oh, ever so far away, another voice 
said, “She did splendidly, Donald. She’s still sleepy. 
You go and get some rest, and we’ll call you when 
she wakes up.” 

“Why, it must be all over,” Natalie thought to 
herself, “and I’m so sleepy!” 

Long days followed. The longest, the quietest she 
had ever known. For awhile she was in a room of 
her own, far away from the disturbing noises of the 
Little Cheepers of Ward D. Natalie never had a very 
clear memory of those days that followed the opera- 
tion. Sometimes it was as though she had been sus¬ 
pended in space, always drowsy and sleepy. 

“I have so much sleeping to do,” as she explained 
to her father apologetically, one day when he came 
to see her. But there were moments when the drow¬ 
siness left her, and sharp, white pain took possession 
of her, so that she was glad of the blessed medicine 
that made her sleepy again. 

The day before she was to be moved back into the 



82 


Natalie 


ward something happened that made up in excite¬ 
ment for all the monotony of the other days. Just as 
her nurse had finished feeding Natalie her noonday 
broth, there was a knock on the door of her room, 
and three people looking rather mysterious but very 
happy, came filing in—her father, Aunt Bess, and 
Dr. Bill. 

Natalie was wide enough awake to notice the new 
and most becoming hat that her aunt was wearing, 
and to stare in amazement at the white flower in the 
buttonhole of Dr. Bill’s coat. 

Aunt Bess bent down to kiss her. “Can you guess 
where we are going, Nats?” she whispered. 

“Oh,” cried Natalie, “are you—are you—I mean, 
is this the day?” 

“Yes, Nats,” said Dr. Bill. “We’re on our way to 
the Little Church Around the Comer. I wish you 
could come along.” 

“We couldn’t get married without your blessing, 
dear,” said Aunt Bess. 

“Gee, you’ve got that,” Natalie answered. “And 
I’ll sort of be there, too. In my thoughts, I mean. 
Come back and tell me all about it afterwards, will 
you?” 

They promised, but when, an hour later, they re¬ 
turned to the hospital on their way up town to their 
new apartment, they found Natalie fast asleep. Aunt 
Bess unpinned her bridal bouquet and put it in water 




• ft' 

dir 


I •' • -l 4 • .■'(<■} ■ ' 

.■».• »•*» *»l 4 • * • i/*y^ 


•: //*"*.. .• /V, ‘ v -T. wfV *.••*5 Th/:-Ta^. ;t: -JV. 1 - 


It was the loveliest Christmas she had ever spent 


















Ward Deliverance 


85 


on the table at Natalie’s bedside, so that she would 
see it first thing when she awoke. 

The Little Cheepers gave Natalie a regular home 
coming when she was moved back into the ward next 
day. They were doubly glad to have their Natalie 
back with them, for Christmas was almost at hand 
and they wanted to share it with her. 

With a stiff cast all about her, Natalie could not, 
of course, take an active part, but in spite of that it 
was quite the strangest and loveliest Christmas she 
had ever spent. There was a tree of course, and 
there was Daddy, dressed up as a very portly St. Nick, 
completely deceiving all the Wardlets but Natalie 
as to his identity. Visiting hours were extended and 
greater laxity was enjoyed. 

Such a strange assortment of people came to that 
Christmas celebration! Aunt Bess and Dr. Bill, who 
was now Natalie’s uncle, Marujita’s mother all 
dressed up in a black lace gown, with a red flower 
over one ear. CiK'Sen Dick came looking a little less 
untidy than usual. And the sisters and brothers and 
fathers and mothers of the other Wardlets, including 
even one little roly-poly grandmother. 

“Do you suppose there really is a person hidden 
away among those sofa cushions?” Daddy whispered 
naughtily to Natalie. 

But suddenly, in the midst of everything, the little 
sofa cushion began to sing, in a sweet, though slight' 



86 


Natalie 


ly quavering voice, that best of all Christmas songs, 
Silent Night. Only she, being a little German grand¬ 
mother, sang it as Stille Nacht. After the first verse 
everyone joined in. 

Truly a beautiful Christmas! Along came New 
Year’s on the heels of Christmas. Long after the 
other little Wardlets had fallen asleep, Natalie lis¬ 
tened to the roar of welcome with which New York 
City greets the New Year. Even along the hospital 
street the warning notices reading Zones of Silence 
were disregarded that one night of the year, and 
horns tooted and whistles shrieked. The boats on the 
East River took up the cry. 

“What fun it will be, what fun to celebrate New 
Year’s Eve in New York!” Natalie thought, “And I 
will, some day,” she promised herself, “I really will!” 

There were long days ahead after the holidays 
were over. Natalie needed all her fortitude to endure 
them. It was dreadfully tiring to lie flat on her back, 
always and always, with a great heavy cast around 
her. She and her father had tried to joke about her 
high board night gown. But it was no joke to be 
inside it, day in and day out. 

As Daddy had returned to his work in Buffalo she 
saw him just during week ends. Aunt Bess came in 
often of course, now that she was living in New York. 
Even the faithful Dick called now and again, although 
his little cousin was no longer at the hospital, as she 



Ward Deliverance 


87 


had been moved to a convalescent home in the courn 
try. 

Most of the time, however, she was alone with 
only the Little Cheepers for company. She was very 
fond of them of course, but sometimes she grew 
weary of their chatter and wished she had Teddy 
or Dorothy or Ruth to talk to. Most of all she want' 
ed Miss Lee. How different were these days of re' 
cuperation from the lovely time she had spent with 
Miss Lee and Daddy at Harding Hall! And here she 
was, wasting her time, accomplishing nothing, while 
the world went on without her. 

She confided her feelings to Aunt Bess. “These 
days are gone forever. Aunt Bess," she said, “and 
me doing nothing, getting nowhere. Why, I’ll be a 
dumbbell when I get back to school. Everybody will 
be ’way ahead of me. I won’t know anything! At 
home I could draw, at least, but here I can’t do a 
thing!” 

“But Natalie, that’s absurd!” Aunt Bess answered. 
“Doing nothing? Why, you are getting well—the 
most important thing you can do. Still, my dear,” 
Aunt Bess went on in a kinder tone, “nobody under' 
stands better than I how hard it is for an active, am' 
bitious person to be idle.” 

She said no more at the time, but later, in her 
usual forthright manner, she made arrangements with 
the hospital authorities to allow Natalie to have a 



88 


Natalie 


tutor for two hours each day. A young man, much 
in need of extra money to complete his postgraduate 
work at Columbia, was found for the job. He was as 
eager a teacher as Natalie was a student, so they got 
on well. He wrote at once to Mr. Collins, principal 
of Natalie's high school for the proper assignments, 
and the two faithfully followed the work, week by 
week, which she would have been studying were she 
attending school. 

What strange lessons they were, to be sure, with 
Natalie flat on her back, doing sums in her head; for 
she could hold neither a pencil nor a book! For the 
first time in her life, she said to her father, she was 
exercising her brains and finding it fun. So life was 
not so bad after all. 

Sometimes at night she lay awake listening to the 
boats hooting in the East River. She had many day- 
dreams about those boats. In imagination she fol¬ 
lowed them to strange ports in the seven seas. Again 
and again her thoughts turned to the man-made port 
in Panama whose stories she had heard from Miss 
Lee. Would they ever take that promised trip? 

Miss Lee was far away now, traveling with a sick 
old lady. But some day she would come back. She 
had promised to be there to help Natalie learn to 
walk again when she came out of her cast. Mean¬ 
while Natalie must bide her time in patience until 
the great day of her deliverance should come. 



AUNT BHJ 


Chapter VII 
FIRST STEPS 

Time has a remarkable way of passing if you just 
give it time enough, Natalie’s father once said. And 
at last came the wonderful day when Natalie was to 
be released from the prison of her cast. Had the 
miracle happened? Oh, would she really be a whole 
girl again, able to move about like other people, to 
walk in the sun once more? Surely, surely after all 
the pain and waiting she had endured, this must come 
true! 

With Daddy and Uncle Bill standing beside her 
and her nurse’s arm supporting her, she took her 
first step. What a wobbly, uncertain feeling! It was 
89 


90 


Natalie 


suddenly almost more effort than was worth while, 
but she gritted her teeth and valiantly stepped forth, 
putting her whole weight down on her own foot. 
She had won! That much at least had been accom¬ 
plished, and the rest was sure to follow. 

“Good girl!” said Uncle Bill. “I’m proud of you!” 

Natalie smiled up into his face. “It’s you we should 
be proud of,” she said, her voice shaking a little. 
“Now I’m going to try the other foot. You know it’s 
like being a baby and knowing you are, all at once,” 
Natalie explained. “My mind knows that one foot 
comes after the other, but my feet seem to have for' 
gotten it.” 

“Just be glad that you haven’t a hundred feet to 
boss like the poor centipede in the poem,” her father 
said, encouragingly. “Do you remember him? 

‘A centipede was happy, until a frog in fun 
Said, “Pray, which leg comes after which?” 

Which put his mind in such a pitch 
He lay distracted in a ditch 
Considering how to run!’” 

Natalie giggled and tried again. She felt clumsy, 
and so weak! And the floor seemed to come right 
up and hit her. 

“That’s done it!” said Uncle Bill, as with tremen¬ 
dous effort, Natalie’s left foot followed her right. 
“There now, that’s enough for today. Tomorrow 
we’ll double the dose and let you take four steps, and 



First Steps 


9i 


so on and so forth until well have you running a 
Marathon one of these days. You’ll see!” 

Uncle Bill sounded very happy, and Daddy looked 
radiant. Natalie felt sure her uncle would not have 
talked like that if the operation was not the success 
they had all wanted. Oh, it was, it was! But now she 
was tired and glad to obey orders and take a nap. 

After her first great effort had been made, the 
nurses and Uncle Bill had a hard time persuading 
Natalie to go slow enough. She was determined to 
master the use of her long-idle muscles in the shortest 
possible time. 

Each day had its little battle and its victory. "Now 
I know how Wellington felt at Waterloo,” she told 
Uncle Bill the evening after she had taken a few 
steps unsupported by her nurse’s arm. Then followed 
other victories. One afternoon she and her nurse 
walked out into the hall together to the tiled stair¬ 
way, and Natalie Harding who had been bedridden 
for almost a year, who had lived in a cast unable to 
move anything but her head and arms—Natalie Har¬ 
ding walked up and down four stairs! 

"And now you can come home with us,” said 
Uncle Bill, who was as happy as could be over the 
success of the experiment. "You aren’t to go back 
to Buffalo for a long time to come. I want you around 
where I can look after you. I’ll bring you back to 
the hospital from time to time, to lie under the lamps 



92 


Natalie 


that will carry the health-giving rays of the sun clear 
into your insides to make them all well .' 1 

At last the day came when Natalie bade farewell 
to the people who had been so kind to her. She said 
good-bye to the brave Little Cheepers with a pang, 
for she had grown very fond of them. 

Uncle Bill took her to the apartment on Riverside 
Drive, where Aunt Bess and Miss Lee were waiting 
for her. For Miss Lee had not forgotten her promise 
to help Natalie through the first difficult days. 

It was wonderful having Miss Lee again! Their 
companionship, broken by the long months at the 
hospital, was resumed, as good as ever. Just as she 
had been a kindly, understanding nurse, so she be¬ 
came an encouraging, helpful bodyguard. For Nata¬ 
lie needed every encouragement. The operation had 
been a success, yes. But it was a long difficult road 
she must travel before she could manage her poor 
weak muscles again. 

The windows of Natalie’s room faced Riverside 
Drive which winds along the Hudson River. Some¬ 
times Natalie wrapped herself in a blanket and sat at 
the window watching the early morning sunlight on 
the tall, lofty Palisades across the river. Or at night 
she watched the winking lights from the great elec¬ 
tric signs, and the never-ending stream of cars and 
taxicabs rolling along the Drive. 

Best of all, she liked to see the boats in the water— 



First Steps 


93 


fat ferry boats waddling across the river—tugs and 
barges, and as the weather got warm, slim graceful 
yachts. Once a fleet of battleships was anchored up 
the Hudson and the rays from their searchlights made 
a magical pattern across the night sky. 

Not all of Natalie's enjoyment of that view came 
from an armchair by the window, however. Little 
by little she was permitted to make short excursions 
along the Drive on her own two feet. Crossing the 
street for the first time was a nightmare, in spite of 
the fact that Uncle Bill and Miss Lee flanked her on 
either side, each lending a supporting hand. 

“Fll never be as scared of anything as that again," 
she said to Miss Lee, when they were safely back in 
Natalie’s room. “There is one good thing about life. 
You can do a thing for the first time just once." 

So each day Natalie added to her accomplishments, 
and each day she felt herself growing stronger, surer. 
Although she would feel stiff and clumsy for some 
time to come, so they told her, the miracle had hap- 
pened and she was a whole girl again. 

Her days were spent studying with her good tutor 
and exercising with Miss Lee, and passed very hap¬ 
pily. Daddy came often from Buffalo to see her. And 
sometimes Cus-zen Dick, her old friend from hospi¬ 
tal days, came too. Poor Dick was not much im¬ 
proved in appearance. Indeed Aunt Bess, who was 
a stickler for propriety, looked at him askance. Once 



94 


Natalie 


she commented on his untidiness to Natalie, remark" 
ing that it was an old-fashioned idea that a man must 
look sloppy in order to convince the world that he is 
an artist. 

“There’s an occupation for your spare time, Nats,” 
said Uncle Bill. “Along with learning how to walk 
and keeping up with your school work, why don’t 
you set yourself up as sartorial advisor to young 
artists?” 

“Poor old Dick,” said Natalie. “It’s a shame that 
he looks the way he does, for he is very nice and 
does awfully good work. I showed Daddy some of 
his sketches at the hospital one day and he said they 
really showed promise.” 

“Not very great praise, is it?” asked Uncle Bill. 

“It is from Daddy,” Natalie answered. “He says 
that many a good auto mechanic is ruined for life by 
some well-meaning person giving him lofty notions 
about becoming an artist. Besides the poor boy really 
doesn’t have enough money to dress properly. He 
gets a very small salary, and spends all he can spare 
on drawing materials and lessons at the Art School.” 

“Well, Nats,” said Uncle Bill, “I’ve no doubt that 
the young man is very worthy, but honestly, my 
dear, I find that a well-tied tie costs no more than a 
poorly tied one.” 

“And lasts much longer,” put in Aunt Bess. 

“I wish someone would take Dick in hand,” Nata- 



First Steps 


95 


lie confessed. "He could be such a wonderful person. 
You two haven't any idea how nice he has been to 
me, how he has kidded me along to try to walk, when 
I wanted to give up, and how much fun he is." 

As the days passed and Natalie's recovery was as- 
sured, Miss Lee left for Albany where she had been 
called to another case. 

"I wish," said Natalie, "that I could always have 
you with me." 

"But that would mean having you always sick, 
Nats dear, and you wouldn't like that," Miss Lee 
answered. 

"That's true," said Natalie. "But I wish there 
were some other way. It's so hard to have you go." 

"I'll always come back if you need me," Miss Lee 
promised once again. 

One evening, not long after Miss Lee's departure, 
Daddy arrived unexpectedly from Buffalo. Appar¬ 
ently there was something important afoot, for he 
said he wanted to call a council of war. That sound¬ 
ed ominous, so the family got themselves comfort¬ 
able in chairs in the living room and gave him their 
attention. 

There was great news indeed. A group of men 
were organizing an advertising agency and wanted 
Donald Harding for their Art Director. 

"Don't let that title give you any false ideas of 
my importance, though," Daddy confided. "I'll 



96 


Natalie 


probably be everything from office boy to traveling 
salesman for a year or two until we get on our feet. 
It is a co-operative venture. We are all going to put 
in what we can in the way of money and I want to 
put in full time and all the effort there is in me to 
make a go of it.” 

Daddy was looking very excited and happy. “Of 
course I can’t take such a momentous step without 
consulting my partner about it,” he said, smiling at 
Natalie. “You see,” he said, turning to Bill Rodgers, 
“Natalie and I have been partners for ever so long. 
I have to be sure she agrees.” 

Of course when Natalie saw her father’s enthu¬ 
siasm there was nothing to do but agree, although 
she hoped it would not change their plans about go¬ 
ing back to Buffalo. 

“Where will your office be, Daddy?” she asked. 

“At Buffalo where we know our way around,” 
her father answered. “But as a matter of fact, I’ll 
spend a good part of the time traveling to most of 
the large cities in the Middle West drumming up 
trade. And, honey, that’s one of the things I want 
to talk to you about. Since I am to be away from 
Buffalo so much of the time, how would you like to 
stay here with Aunt Bess and Uncle Bill and go to 
school in New York City? I would try hard to get 
down to see you a couple of times a month, and you 
would have a happy home here, I am sure.” 



First Steps 


97 


“We'd love to have you, Natalie," Aunt Bess said 
cordially and Uncle Bill smiled agreement. 

“That’s awfully nice of you both," Natalie an¬ 
swered. “Please don’t think I’m not grateful. But 
Daddy, won’t you be in Buffalo much more than in 
New York?" 

“Yes, I expect to be there about half the time." 

“Then let me come home and be with you," Nata¬ 
lie said. “We’ve been separated so much, with all 
these months at the hospital." * 

It pleased Donald Harding to have his daughter 
talk like that. He wanted to do the best he could for 
her no matter what the cost to himself, so it made 
him doubly happy to have her so evidently prefer 
his company to anything else. 

“Besides," Natalie went on, “my tutor thinks that 
with all the extra work I have been doing, I’ll have 
enough credits to enter the Senior Class this year. 
It would be fun to graduate back there at dear old 
Buffalo High where I’ve always lived. It feels like 
home to me there. Not that I don’t like it here, Aunt 
Bess, and I think it’s swell of you and Uncle Bill to 
want me. But—’’ 

“That’s all right, Natalie," Aunt Bess interrupted 
in a kindly tone. “But remember, if you ever get 
lonely and want to change your mind, just let me 
know. Whom will you get to look after Natalie, 
Donald?" she asked, turning to her brother. 



98 


Natalie 


“Why, I don’t need anybody to look after me 
now!” exclaimed Natalie, indignantly. “We can get 
hold of Cindy again. She’s always writing me asking 
me when I’m coming home, and she and Dad and I 
can get on all right, can’t we, Dad?” 

“I think so,” Daddy agreed. 

Aunt Bess was far from satisfied with this arrange¬ 
ment. “Really, Donald,” she said, “I do think Nata¬ 
lie needs more companionship than Lucinda could 
give her, especially with you away so much. Don’t 
you think you should get a housekeeper who would 
be more of a chaperone?” 

“Cindy can be my chaperone, Aunt Bess. I’d lots 
rather have her than some strange person I don’t 
know. As for companionship when Dad is away, 
what’s the matter with the whole Gang and the rest 
of my friends in Buffalo? Besides, I’m old enough to 
take care of myself, now.” 

“I think she’s right, Bess,” said her husband. 
“These youngsters just will grow up, you know.” 
Natalie flashed him a grateful smile. 

“And don’t forget the present exchequer won’t 
allow for trimmings like chaperones,” put in Daddy. 

“Well,” said Aunt Bess, reluctantly, “we will see. 
After all, if it doesn’t work out we can always make 
other arrangements.” 

“Then three cheers for Natalie, the new mistress 
of Harding Hall!” cried Daddy. 



First Steps 


99 


“That’s an awfully large house for you three to 
rattle around in,” said Uncle Bill. “Why don’t you 
sell it and get a little place more your size?” 

“Heavens, Dad, you wouldn’t do that, would 
you?” Natalie cried in alarm. 

“No danger of that, I’m afraid. Nobody wants a 
white elephant like Harding Hall these cautious days. 
But I wish I could. Tell you what we’ll do, Nats,” 
he chuckled, “if this new advertising business doesn’t 
work out, you and Cindy and I can run Harding Hall 
as a boarding house.” 

They all laughed. Then Natalie was struck with 
a thought. “Dad, if you take on this new work, 
what’s to become of Minnie Mis'hap?” 

“I was coming to that, Nats,” her father answered 
soberly. “Honey, I hate to tell you this, I wish I 
could pretend that things are better than they are. 
But I won’t go back on our family custom of talking 
the facts straight out. You have managed to stand 
hearing the truth in the past. And the truth is that 
somehow my fingers have lost their skill, in spite of 
the wonderful work Uncle Bill did to straighten them. 
If the editor had not decided to change Minnie into 
a Saturday night special instead of a daily, I don’t 
know where we would be. I have had to do some 
pretty careful maneuvering with old sketches to get 
away with it. I can’t draw Minnie or anything else 
as a matter of fact, well enough to go on with it. If I 



100 


Natalie 


didn’t need every ounce of energy and imagination 
I have to put into my new work, I’d be tempted to 
try to find a young artist whom I could train to make 
the pictures, while I supplied the stories. But I 
haven’t any time or imagination to spare. You see, 
dear, this new work has a real future, which Minnie 
Mis'hap no longer has, for me at any rate.” 

“We got along all right when I was working on 
Minnie,” Natalie said, stubbornly. “Why can’t I do 
it again?” 

“Because you have better use for your time and 
energy, just as I have. You must concentrate on get' 
ting an education. Besides—” he stopped short, not 
wanting to hurt her. 

“Oh, I know what you mean, Dad,” Natalie said, 
contritely. “I’m too conceited for any use. I couldn’t 
have carried on the strip if I hadn’t used your old 
pictures and had you there every minute planning 
them and thinking up the plots. I am not really so 
dumb as to think I could do it alone.” 

“Have you tried to sell Minnie Mis'hap, Donald?” 
asked Uncle Bill. 

“Yes, and with about the same results as trying to 
sell the house. No buyers. The editor says the strip 
needs new blood and enthusiasm, and I guess he’s 
right. But most cartoonists like to make up their own 
comic characters. I’m afraid we will just have to drop 
her.” 



First Steps 


IOI 


Natalie’s father saw the distress in the girl’s face 
at these words. He sensed something of her feeling. 
To him Minnie Mis-hap was already a thing of the 
past. The new work beckoned, stimulating and chal¬ 
lenging. But to Natalie the comic strip represented 
the happy things of the past which she longed to 
hold. Poor Natalie! She felt as if the bottom were 
falling out of her world with her father casually talk¬ 
ing about selling Harding Hall and abandoning Min¬ 
nie Mis-hap practically in the same breath. 

“Oh, dam it,” said Natalie. “Why does every¬ 
thing nice always have to change?” 

“I’m sorry, Nats dear,” said her father. “But I 
don’t know what else to do.” 

When she heard the tone in her father’s voice 
Natalie was ashamed of her selfishness. “That’s all 
right, Dad,” she said. “I know there isn’t anything 
else to be done about it.” 

“It’s too bad Minnie Mis-hap isn’t a boy,” said 
Uncle Bill, not meaning to be unkind, but trying to 
amuse the family and get them over a difficult mo¬ 
ment. “If she were, your friend Dick Frost might 
take snapshots of himself for the syndicate.” 

Aunt Bess and Daddy laughed, but Natalie said, 
gravely, “Oh, Uncle Bill, I wish you wouldn’t al¬ 
ways make so much fun of poor old Dick.” She 
stopped suddenly. “Jiminy crickets. Uncle Bill, that’s 
a swell idea!” 



102 


Natalie 


“What is?" 

“To have Dick draw Minnie. Why Daddy, he's 
just the one. He has a real sense of the ridiculous, 
which is, as you always tell us, the first qualification 
for a comic artist. Wait a minute." She went into 
her room and came back with a hand full of papers. 
“Look here," she went on, “here's one I got the other 
day which he called Characters Seen in the Subway." 

She spread the pages out before the family. 

“By Jove," said Uncle Bill, “Look at this one." 
He held up a picture of a very fat woman, laden with 
bundles, trying to get through the turnstile in the 
subway station. 

“See this," chuckled Aunt Bess, holding up a wrin¬ 
kled but excruciatingly funny drawing of an elegant¬ 
ly attired young man, complete with spats and a mon¬ 
ocle, whose coattails had been caught in the door of 
a moving train while he was left standing on the plat¬ 
form, apparently wondering what on earth had hap¬ 
pened to him. 

They were laughing uproariously over these pic¬ 
tures when Natalie produced another. “Here's one 
that's a joke on me. It's a tumble I took on Riverside 
Drive one day, when he and Miss Lee were helping 
me walk. He calls it First Steps. I fell down so un¬ 
expectedly that I pulled him along, too. Look at 
him." 

Dick had not spared himself. He had made a 



First Steps 


103 


caricature of himself emphasizing all of his eccem 
tricities. 

“This is good stuff,” pronounced Donald Harding. 
“I believe he has a real sense of the ridiculous.” 

Whereupon Natalie and Aunt Bess and Uncle Bill 
chanted solemnly, “The first qualification of a comic 
artist!” 

“Hush, you folks,” laughed Daddy. “I surrender! 
Well, Nats,” he went on, “I’ll interview your young 
protege and we will see what can be done. If we can 
manage something with the paper there is no reason 
why he shouldn’t try it out. You can give him a 
helping hand, Nats, and I’ll spare him all the time I 
can until he gets launched on his own.” 

“Minnie can retire one of these days on the pro- 
ceeds of a book entitled Young Talent 1 Have Discov - 
ered ,” remarked Uncle Bill. 

Natalie was thinking ahead joyously. “If Dick 
does get that job, Daddy, he ought to live in Buffalo 
to be near the paper. He could have Aunt Bess’s 
old room for a studio, except when you come to 
visit us of course, Aunt Bess. And he can be the 
first boarder of the Harding Hall Boarding House.” 

“That would hardly do,” Aunt Bess began, her 
voice stem with disapproval. But Donald Harding 
shook his head at his sister. 

“No, Nats,” he said to his daughter. “Dick must 
stay here in New York and attend Art School serf' 



104 


Natalie 


ously. Now that Minnie appears just once a week 
it is no longer a full time job so he won’t have to 
spend all his time over it. With his income from 
Minnie he can afford more comfort and take a full 
time course at his school.” 

“And he can hire a valet,” suggested Uncle Bill 
with a naughty twinkle in his eye. 





Chapter VIII 
THE PARTY 

Home again! How different Harding Hall looked 
when one observed it standing on one’s own two feet, 
like a natcheral girl, as Cindy would say, instead of 
from the windows of an ambulance! Had she ever 
before really appreciated this quiet, friendly place, 
Natalie wondered? The September sunshine sent 
long shadows over the spacious lawns and made a 
pattern of light through the maple trees. And the 
old house seemed to stretch out welcoming arms to 
her. Her father could call it a white elephant that 
nobody wanted, if he liked. But to Natalie it was 
Home! 


105 


io6 


Natalie 


She wandered from room to room, and to her eyes 
the shabby, old-fashioned place was filled with 
beauty. Even her own room of which she had grown 
tired during the long months in bed, seemed attrac¬ 
tive to her now. As she saw the prizes won at tennis 
and swimming, her pennants that adorned the walls, 
and the snowshoes crossed above the fireplace, she 
dared believe that her days of sports were not over, 
after all. 

“Of course I’m still wobbly and about as limp as 
one of Cindy’s dishrags,” she told her father. “But 
maybe, maybe—oh, Daddy, I will get all right again, 
won’t I?” 

“I’m betting on it,” Donald Harding answered. 
“Give you time enough and you’ll be running circles 
around the Gang just as you used to do.” 

Before school opened, Natalie and Black Glory 
with Daddy’s help, reorganized Harding Hall to fit 
the family’s changed status. Sometimes her father 
had qualms about the whole arrangement, especially 
leaving so young a girl alone with only the faithful 
Lucinda for company. But Natalie seemed to be get¬ 
ting so much fun out of being mistress of Harding 
Hall that he hoped for the best and allowed her en¬ 
thusiasm to quiet his fears. 

What fun it was to go to school in a big classroom 
with other people again! Not that Natalie scorned 
the improvised school in the hospital ward. The 



The Party 


107 


training she had received there in exercising her 
brains had stood her in good stead as her examina- 
tions proved. For, in spite of the wreck of the Bobo- 
link, she had done two years’ work in a year and a 
half and she was ready to enter the Senior Class. 

School meant more than lessons. It meant friends 
—friends of her own age too, instead of babies like 
the Little Cheepers, and adults, nice and companion- 
able though some of them were. Natalie had been 
looking forward so eagerly to seeing her old compan¬ 
ions again, no longer in the role of a sick friend whom 
they must visit, but as an equal with whom they 
could share their activities. 

Somehow things did not go as she had planned and 
dreamed them. The old Gang, long since dispersed, 
paid little attention to her. The boys felt themselves 
young men, now, and their athletics were confined 
to the school teams. They did not wish to be re¬ 
minded of the old Star Dusters. As Hartley, the 
captain of the Gang expressed it, "Baseball in vacant 
lots is kid stuff.” 

Ruth and Dorothy were especially changed. Ruth 
met Natalie’s reference to the Three A Club with 
all the disdain of sophisticated sixteen. That too, ap¬ 
parently was kid stuff, Natalie thought bitterly. Their 
vast ambitions were forgotten in the engrossing, im¬ 
mediate interests of clothes, good times and boys. 
Natalie tried to join in, for like every young person 



io8 


Natalie 


the world over she wanted to "belong.’ 1 Sometimes 
she wondered if being so much with older people or 
with children many years younger than herself had 
made her forget how to take her place among her 
contemporaries. 

Often she wished she could talk it all over with 
Miss Lee! She tried to write her old friend of her 
disappointments and perplexities, but the words did 
not seem to say what she meant them to. 

"Things seem very different, Miss Lee,” Natalie 
wrote. "But that is the way of the world, I guess. 
And if old things have to go new ones will come 
along, just as nice, I am sure.” She felt very adult 
in her new-found philosophy, but there were times 
when she found it slim comfort. 

Natalie knew that she still appeared awkward, for 
occasionally she observed embarrassed looks on the 
faces of her friends. She felt so well, and each day 
her muscles seemed to grow more limber, that she 
was sure the remaining stiffness would wear itself 
away, the more things she did. All she needed was 
exercise. So, in spite of a few disappointments, she 
was finding it good to be alive and well, to be a real 
girl again. 

In all this world of change two people remained 
steadfastly as she remembered them. One was Big 
Black Glory, as kind and jolly as ever, and bubbling 
over with joy at having her Natalie to take care of 



The Tarty 


109 


again. And the other was her. old pal, Teddy Davis. 
Of course his voice was deeper and his legs, clad in 
long trousers now, were longer. But he was her de- 
voted slave as of old. 

On the Block it was the same as it used to be. 
Teddy and Natalie were in and out of each other’s 
houses as if there had been no passage of time. At 
school however, Teddy kept away from her, until 
he saw that no other boy paid any attention to her. 
Then he formed the habit of meeting her on the cor¬ 
ner of the school block and solemnly escorting her 
home. Natalie knew she should be grateful for his 
loyalty. Certainly it was better than having no one. 
But she did wish Teddy were a little older. 

When the time grew near for the first social affair 
of the school year, the Autumn Ball, Natalie was 
filled with apprehension. Would anyone ask her to 
go? What would she do if no one did? Before the 
accident she had been one of the most popular girls 
in the crowd, and was invited everywhere. It was 
unthinkable that she would be left out now. 

Aunt Bess had sent her a lovely blue taffeta eve¬ 
ning gown, her first grown-up dress. Natalie invited 
Ruth and Dorothy to drop in and see it the day it 
arrived from New York, all done up in a handsome 
box which bore the name of one of Manhattan’s most 
exclusive dress shops. There was no doubt that the 
girls were impressed and not a little envious. 



no 


Natalie 


“Let’s all three go to Irene’s Beauty Shoppe the 
morning before the dance and get fixed up,” sug- 
gested Dorothy. 

“Yes, let’s,” Natalie agreed. “Just think, it will 
be the first time I have ever had my hair done at a 
place like that. All the time that you have been 
having waves and things. I’ve been in bed.” 

“Let’s get manicures, too,” said Ruth. She was 
feeling very pleased with herself, for Tom Drew, the 
captain of the football team and the most popular 
boy in the Senior Class, had asked her to go with 
him. She was a little dismayed, however, when she 
asked her chum Dorothy, who her escort was to be. 

“My brother is bringing one of the men in his 
class at Cornell,” answered Dorothy, trying to look 
unconcerned. Poor Ruth! Even the captain of the 
football team was no such catch as a college man! 

“Who is taking you, Nats?” asked Ruth. 

Natalie blushed crimson. “Why—I—I haven’t de^ 
cided yet who to go with,” she stammered. The 
girls said nothing, but a look of understanding passed 
between them. 

Two days before the dance, Teddy Davis came to 
see Natalie and rather sheepishly invited her to go 
with him. There was nothing else to do so she ao- 
cepted, although it was humiliating to go with a 
Sophomore when all her classmates were going with 
Seniors. 



The Party 


in 


When the great night came, however, and Teddy 
arrived to fetch her, looking very handsome in his 
first tuxedo, she had to confess that nobody could 
have had a more gallant escort. For he brought her 
a beautiful corsage of gardenias to wear, and, very 
proud and dignified, handed her into a hired limou¬ 
sine. 

A lively orchestra was playing a popular air as 
Natalie and Teddy entered the ballroom of the big 
hotel. How gay the room looked, hung with school 
pennants and decorated with autumn foliage! 

It promised to be a wonderful affair. Natalie knew 
she looked well. The hairdresser had made the most 
of her soft, brown hair, and her lovely gown which, 
as Lucinda said, “jes matches yo’ eyes”, was the 
smartest in the room. As the rhythm of the music 
took hold of her, the last vestige of self-consciousness 
vanished. Surely she was all right now. How won¬ 
derful to be going to a dance like other people! 

Her joy was short-lived. It was several dances be¬ 
fore she realized what was happening. No one was 
asking her to dance but Teddy! 

“Am I doing so badly?” she asked herself in dis¬ 
may. “Do I loo\ lame, after all?” She could see Ruth 
and Dorothy and most of the girls she knew, going 
smilingly from one pair of boyish arms to another. 
“How mean they are,” she thought, trying to hold 
back the tears, “and what a fool I was to come to this 



112 


Natalie 


place. Why did I think it would be any different on 
a dance floor from what it is at school?” 

Her worry served to increase her stiffness. Poor 
Teddy, redffaced and perspiring, pulled her around 
as best he could, while he cast longing eyes at the 
stag line. 

“I’m just a lump,” Natalie told herself. “A clumsy, 
awkward lump!” 

How long this torture continued she did not know. 
Miserable though she was, she would not give up, 
and Teddy, of course, had to stay with her. Dance 
after dance they took the floor together, but there 
was never a tap on Teddy’s shoulder until—yes, there 
was! 

A grinning face appeared out of the blur. Teddy 
breathed a sigh of relief, as he handed her over, and 
Natalie looked up gratefully into the face of—Arthur 
Phillips! Arthur Phillips, her old enemy. Was he 
gloating over her? Was that why he had done it? 
In her dismay she stumbled and all but fell. “I can 
pretend I’ve sprained my ankle,” she thought mis' 
erably. 

She excused herself and limped off the floor. For 
a long time she stayed alone in the cloak room. No 
one came near her. At last she crept into the foyer 
and hid behind a huge palm. She would wait there 
quietly for awhile and give Teddy a chance to dance 
with girls who could dance. Then she would send 












The Tarty 


111 

for him and they would go home together, and never, 
never, as long as she lived, would she go to a dance 
again! 

Her sorrowful meditations were broken into by 
the sound of talking. She heard Teddy’s voice, plead¬ 
ing. 

"Look here, you guys, give a fellow a break, won’t 
you? Why don’t you dance with her?” 

"Say, listen,” it was Hartley who answered, the 
captain of the old Gang. "What do you think this is, 
a dance or a—” 

"Kangaroo walk,” cut in the voice of Arthur Phil¬ 
lips. "One of the chaperones got after me. She’s 
trying to round you all up to make you dance with 
'poor little Natalie Harding.’ Said I ought to do my 
duty. Well, boy scouts, I did my good deed for the 
day. How about the rest of you?” There were sev¬ 
eral guffaws. 

"Aw, but say,” Teddy’s voice all but begged, "be 
decent to the poor kid!” 

"Listen, fella,” answered Arthur. "That girl ought 
to get wise to herself. She’s always butting in where 
she doesn’t belong. When she was a kid she wanted 
to play ball like a boy. Now she’s a cripple, she goes 
to a dance!” 

"Darn you, Arthur Phillips,” Teddy was a brave 
youngster to stand up to a boy two years older than 
himself. "We all wanted her to play with us when 



ii 6 


Natalie 


we were little. And I guess I asked her to come to 
this dance. She's as good as your girls, any day.” 

Natalie’s eyes blurred. Poor loyal little Teddy! 
She wished it didn’t make her so mad to have him 
defending her like this. At length the young men 
went back to the ballroom, and Natalie quietly 
slipped into the cloak room, got her wrap from the 
attendant and went to the front door of the hotel. 
The doorman called a taxicab for her and soon, more 
desolate and unhappy than she ever knew she could 
be, she was rolling along the streets to her home. 

“I suppose it was mean of me to walk out on Teddy 
like that,” she said to herself as the cab pulled up at 
the door of Harding Hall. “But he is probably a lot 
better off without me. Now he can have a good 
time.” 

Natalie was glad that Daddy was away and that 
she could pretend a headache to Cindy, who, seeing 
her tear-stained face, wisely asked no questions. 
After Natalie had crept into bed the faithful Lucinda, 
her black face puckered with worry, brought the girl 
a cup of steaming cocoa. 

“Drink this, chile,” said the thoughtful old woman. 
“Then you’ll git to sleep and feel better.” 

But Natalie lay awake for a long time, living over 
the unhappy evening and wondering how she could 
have been so stupid as to think she could take her 
place in her old world again. It would have been bet' 



The Party 


117 

ter, perhaps, if she had never gone to the hospital, 
she thought sadly, better if she had never had the 
beautiful dream that she could be cured and live like 
other girls again. Well, she knew better now, she 
told herself. She would never be so foolish as to 
make that mistake again. Her body shook with sobs 
when she remembered how happy they had all been 
at the hospital and how hopeful on that wonderful 
day when she had taken her first step. 

As she sipped the cocoa she decided to change all 
her plans. She would bury forever the Natalie Har- 
ding who had played tennis matches and won swim' 
ming contests. And, while others wasted their time 
on such foolish, useless things as dances, she would 
do what they all were there for—study. And she 
would certainly keep herself to herself from now on. 
When she met any of her so'called friends, she would 
speak to them politely and pass on. She was through 
with them forever. 

Next morning she folded up her evening dress and 
together with her cups and trophies, won in those 
faraway days before the accident, packed it away in 
the depths of an old trunk in the attic. Hidden away 
there she would forget them. Then she made a bum 
die of her pictures and pennants and dispatched them 
to Ward D back at the hospital. And with Cindy’s 
help, she moved the huge, cumbersome dictionary 
from the library up to her room, and filled her book' 



n8 


Natalie 


shelves with her father's editions of the classics and 
other equally serious-looking volumes. 

“From now on, Lucinda," she remarked sternly, 
“I'm going to spend my time in worth-while ways. 
No more kid stuff for me! Dances and such things 
are a foolish waste of time, and I don’t like them, 
anyway." But her voice shook when she said it, and 
she fooled no one, not even herself. 





Chapter IX 

TOURISTS ACCOMMODATED 

The faithful Lucinda studied and studied over the 
problem of what to do about Natalie, as she anx- 
iously watched the quiet, pale-faced girl who had re¬ 
placed the gay, fun-loving one. 

“Why don't you git up and git with the other 
chillun no more?" Cindy asked one golden October 
afternoon, as she saw Natalie hunched over her books 
in the library. 

“I am no longer a child and do not wish to act like 
one," Natalie replied severely. 

119 










120 


Natalie 


For Natalie was keeping the vow she had made to 
herself in the hours of heartache that followed the 
Ball. She was making herself over into a serious stU' 
dent. She took a rather grim pride, not only in get' 
ting higher marks than the rest of the old Gang, but 
in learning more about a subject than the textbook 
told. She spent hours poring over her father’s ency' 
clopedia, and her excursions outside the house were 
only to the reference room of the public library. 

All work and no play was making Jill a dull girl 
however, and oh, such a lonely one. It was not much 
fun being merely a good student, while all her old 
friends went their ways without her, busy with the 
games and parties that make up a big part of school 
life. In truth, Natalie was being left severely alone; 
at first because the boys and girls were embarrassed 
and ashamed of their treatment of her at the Autumn 
Ball, and later because her continued aloofness, 
prompted though it was by fear of more hurt, drove 
them away when they did make halting overtures 
of friendship. 

No one but Teddy came to see her. The first time 
they met after the night of the Ball, Natalie apolo' 
gized for leaving him in so unceremonious a fashion. 
Teddy, guessing that she had overheard the boys 
talking about her, tactlessly asked her if this were 
true. And he foolishly reported to Natalie his at' 
tempts to settle accounts with Arthur P hilli ps The 



Tourists Accommodated 


121 


older boy had laughed at him and said scornfully that 
he “wouldn't fight with a kid." 

Poor Teddy! Small thanks Natalie accorded him 
for his chivalry! 

“If you would all leave me alone, one and all," she 
said, “I'd be better off." So, badly hurt by her atti¬ 
tude, for awhile even Teddy stayed away. 

Having pretended that she had sprained her ankle 
on the dance floor, Natalie was forced to limp at 
school for the next week or so in order to keep up 
the fiction. Begun as an excuse, it continued as a 
habit, helped as it was by the stiffness of her body. 
No longer did she practice the exercises she had been 
given when she first left the hospital. She stopped 
consciously trying to improve her posture, and slid 
into careless habits of sitting and standing. The limp 
grew steadily worse. Once so lithe and straight, Nat¬ 
alie became round-shouldered and almost dumpy, and 
because the well-meaning Lucinda knew only one 
cure for a girl's heartache—cake and candy—Nat¬ 
alie’s rosy complexion grew pasty. 

Cindy had no one to whom she could turn for 
advice. Aunt Bess was far away in New York. Miss 
Lee, who had always been such an approachable per¬ 
son in the household, was on a case in Albany. And 
Donald Harding was so seldom at home and so pre¬ 
occupied with business affairs when he was there, 
that Cindy dared not speak to him. 



122 


Natalie 


Natalie had warned Cindy that, whatever hap' 
pened, her father was not to be worried by the ah 
fairs of Harding Hall. When she asked about his 
new work, her father put her off, but she knew the 
venture was not going well and that he was practic' 
ing all sorts of economies. 

“Don't you see, Cindy," Natalie said, “it's up to us 
to keep our troubles away from Dad and give him a 
cheerful place to come home to when he does come 
home?" 

So the colored woman, child herself, entered into 
the spirit of the thing, and Donald Harding never 
guessed that things were not what they seemed. As 
a result he did not propose to Natalie, as he some' 
times wished to do, that she accept her aunt’s offer 
to live in New York City. It was proving more and 
more difficult for him to get back to Buffalo. The 
original plan that he should spend about half the 
time there had not worked out, for the other mem' 
bers of the new firm had soon discovered that Don' 
aid Harding was more successful than the rest of 
them at securing now advertising accounts. They 
therefore sent him farther afield. 

It would have been a great help to him, financially, 
if he could have been relieved of the expense of the 
Buffalo home. But he had not the heart to ask it of 
Natalie, so convinced was he that she was happy, and 
that spending her Senior year at school in her own 



Tourists Accommodated 


123 


home town, meant much to her. Of course, had he 
been oftener at home and less engrossed in business 
worries when he was there, he would have observed 
the true state of affairs. As it was, Natalie put on, 
as he afterwards expressed it, “a mighty convincing 
show.” 

“She has had a terribly hard time of it, poor little 
girl,” Donald Harding said to himself, grimly, “And 
Fm going to give her what she wants, no matter what 
it costs!” 

So each went his way, heavy-hearted and worried, 
but convinced that each was doing what the other 
most wanted. What had become of the old frank 
comradeship between them? 

They had hoped to have the Thanksgiving week¬ 
end together, but business took Natalie's father west 
again, so that all he could manage was the night of 
Thanksgiving itself. 

“Don’t stay home on my account if there is a party 
you want to attend,” he wrote Natalie. “I’ll stay up 
for you.” Natalie smiled ruefully at his suggestion 
that she might be going to a party. But when he came 
home, they feasted on one of Lucinda’s luscious 
meals, and Natalie gave no hint to her father that all 
was not well. 

“Let’s go sort of easy on Christmas presents this 
year, Nats,” her father said. “One of these days, 
when our ship comes in, we will make up for it.” 



I2± 


Natalie 


It was that request which showed Natalie more 
clearly than before the state of her father’s financial 
affairs, for he had always been such a child about cele' 
brating Christmas and birthdays, buying lavishly for 
his dearly loved daughter. 

After her father left, Natalie and Lucinda had a 
talk—a conference—Natalie called it. 

“See here, Cindy,” Natalie said. “We have all 
these empty rooms. Why can’t we turn this house 
into a Tourist Home and rent out rooms to motor' 
ists passing through Buffalo? Now that they have 
built the new highway so close to our house, I am 
sure we would get some trade. I’ll help do the work, 
Cindy. I’ll make the beds and dust. Maybe if we are 
careful, we can support ourselves and take some of 
the burden off Daddy’s shoulders.” 

“What will your pappy say, chile?” Cindy asked. 
“Maybe he don’ like for you to do it.” 

“Nonsense!” retorted Natalie. “He doesn’t have 
to know about it. We can take the sign down when 
he comes home. He always lets us know in advance 
when to expect him. Come on, let’s do it!” 

“Mebbe the rest of the folks on the Block will 
’ject,” suggested Cindy. 

“Well, let ’em,” Natalie’s eyes biased. “A lot I 
care what they think! It’s none of their business 
anyway. Our house is on the comer, so why should 
they care. Of course,” she went on in a less violent 



Tourists Accommodated 


125 


tone, “I’ll ask Teddy to speak to his mother. If they 
really minded, I wouldn’t do it, I suppose.” 

Teddy was delighted at any excuse to make friends 
with Natalie again and eagerly invited her to his 
house to talk it all over with his mother. 

“I’ve often thought of doing this very thing my' 
self, Natalie,” Mrs. Davis said, when Natalie had 
solemnly laid the scheme before her. “And you’ve 
stolen a march on me. Good for you! It really is ab' 
surd for small families like ourselves to be living in 
such large houses, when we have so much room to 
spare. Teddy and I will help you get started,” she 
went on, secretly thinking that she would keep an 
eye on the people who came to rent Natalie’s rooms. 

“Thanks a lot, Mrs. Davis,” Natalie answered. 
“Cindy and I will send you our overflow!” 

“What has your father to say about it?” Mrs. 
Davis asked. 

“I’m not going to tell him about it until I see how 
it works out,” Natalie answered. Then, seeing the 
concern on the older woman’s face, she went on, 
quickly, “Oh, please don’t say anything to him. He 
has so much on his mind now. It isn’t really deceiw 
ing him—I wouldn’t do that, you know that. But 
things aren’t going very well for him, and I want to 
help out. Please, please, Mrs. Davis!” 

With some misgivings, Mrs. Davis promised. She 
had not seen very much of Natalie since the girl’s 



126 


Natalie 


return from Buffalo, which was, of course, natural 
enough, now that the difference in Teddy's age and 
Natalie's was more apparent. But she had seen 
enough to know that the girl was lonely. Perhaps 
this Tourist Home plan would give Natalie just the 
interest she needed. 

"Now we must put up a sign," said Natalie, and 
she and Teddy went hunting in the attic for the old 
sign which Natalie had made so long ago for Aunt 
Bess' homecoming. On the opposite side from Wel- 
come Home, Natalie neatly painted—Tourists Ac- 
commodated. With Cindy's help they cleared out 
the old spare room, and Aunt Bess' room, and made 
a bed-sitting room of the unused front parlor. 

"If we ever have a crowd I can put someone in 
my room, too," said Natalie. "And I'll use Dad's." 

Natalie felt like a full-fledged business woman. She 
bought a tin cash box and an account book. She was 
going to know how they stood on this thing, not 
just make a guess at it. Teddy had the brilliant idea 
of telling the near-by garages and filling stations about 
Natalie’s enterprise, so that they would send cus¬ 
tomers. He also had a small printing press on which 
he made a few cards to be distributed around town. 
They read: 

“MISS NATALIE HARDING 
TOURISTS ACCOMMODATED 
COMFORTABLE BEDS CLEAN, AIRY ROOMS 
BREAKFASTS OPTIONAL 

122 MAPLE STREET BUFFALO, NEW YORK” 



Tourists Accommodated 


127 


In spite of the fact that the tourist home was 
opened in the midst of winter when there were com¬ 
paratively few tourists on the road, the venture met 
with some success. The tourists were delighted with 
the comfort and cleanliness of the place and loud in 
their acclaim when they sampled the optional break¬ 
fasts. 

“Look out, young woman, or somebody will steal 
your cook,” exclaimed one jovial gentleman, when 
Cindy placed a plate of waffles, crisp and light as 
eiderdown, before him. “And see here, take a tip 
from me. I’ve been traveling over this territory for 
seven years and I know what I’m talking about. Don’t 
sell these wonderful breakfast of yours so cheap. 
You’re much too generous. I’d gladly pay twice as 
much as you’re asking. Why don’t you run three 
kinds? First, coffee, fruit and toast for ladies on a 
diet, then a little more food for a little more money 
for the second choice, and third, one of these ban¬ 
quets with all the trimmings for fellows like me who 
have quit caring how big their waistlines grow?” 

Natalie was grateful for the suggestion. So Teddy 
went to work on the printing press again and printed 
three styles of menus. Before long, Natalie and Cindy 
were making enough money to pay the Harding gro¬ 
cery bill and a little over toward light and coal. It 
was not much, of course, but Natalie knew it would 
help. 



128 


Natalie 


Of the good and loyal work which Mrs. Davis did 
on her behalf, she never knew. As Cindy had pre- 
dieted, some of the families on the Block objected to 
the cheapening effect on the neighborhood of a tour¬ 
ist home. But Mrs. Davis’ tact soon won them over, 
especially as she pointed out that the neighborhood 
was changing, and that their Block, once a quiet by¬ 
way on the outskirts of town, was being crowded out 
by business and apartment houses. The older people 
realized that its days as a residential neighborhood 
were numbered, and many of them, like Donald Har¬ 
ding, were trying to dispose of their places. Teddy 
settled scores with two of the Block’s youthful ob¬ 
jectors, and, between them, the mother and son kept 
Natalie’s venture free from outside interference. 

Christmas vacation was soon to come and Natalie 
had received an invitation from Uncle Bill and Aunt 
Bess to spend the holidays with them. She was sorely 
tempted to go. It would be wonderful to get away 
from Buffalo and have some fun for a change, but 
she did not want to leave her business now that it 
was going so well, and, besides, she wanted to put off 
as long as possible the day when her doctor uncle 
looked her over. She could not bear to have him see 
how stiff she had grown after all his hard work and 
care to make her well. So, very reluctantly, she re¬ 
fused on the grounds that she expected to be so busy. 

The Rodgers never guessed the real reason for her 



Tourists Accommodated 


129 


refusal and assumed that Natalie did not wish to miss 
the holiday parties of Buffalo’s younger set. Indeed 
they were delighted that their young niece had so 
much to do! 

It was a blow that Daddy could not come home 
either, although he had suggested a wonderful plan. 
"Instead of our buying presents for each other, let’s 
meet in Chicago and have a party, just you and me,” 
he wrote. "I have to be in Omaha the day before 
Christmas and in Minneapolis the day after. Chicago 
will be a splendid port of call. How about it?” 

Natalie happily agreed. She determined that she 
would confess all about the Tourist Home to her 
father some time during Christmas Day. But the 
right moment to break the news never seemed to pre- 
sent itself. She did not want to interrupt their Christ¬ 
mas dinner by telling him something that might 
worry him, nor distract his attention from the mati¬ 
nee they attended afterwards. And first thing she 
knew, their day together was over and she had not 
disclosed her secret. 

Just before they separated he told her about a trip 
to the Far West that the firm wanted him to take 
which would keep him away from Buffalo for at 
least six weeks. 

"I’m worried about leaving you there so long by 
yourself, darling,” he said. "But if you really are 
getting along all right, it will be a big help to me. 



I 3° 


Natalie 


Maybe after this trip, things will quiet down for me 
and Ill know how we are going to stand. I've asked 
to have charge of a central branch of the business 
so I won't have to travel so much, and well pick out 
a nice town to live in. But it won't be Buffalo. Would 
you mind very much?" 

Natalie assured him that she certainly would not 
mind, and he answered, "I can always count on you, 
my dear, I see that." How could she possibly bring 
up anything that might worry him after that? 

“This trip will either make or break the new busi¬ 
ness, I believe, Nats," her father said. “So wish me 
luck." 

As he put her on the train she said, “Remember 
last Christmas, and the sofa cushion that sang?" 

Daddy laughed. “We seem to specialise in strange 
ways of celebrating Christmas, don't we, dear?" 

“Well," answered Natalie, as she kissed him good¬ 
bye, “It's the best day in the year, no matter how we 
celebrate it." 

When Natalie returned to Buffalo and found that 
her Tourist Home had done a splendid business over 
the holiday, she thought how fortunate a thing it 
was that her father had been unable to come home. 
Then a qualm, so intense that it was almost a physi¬ 
cal pain, smote her. Was she deceiving him—her 
darling, trusting dad? She could not bear such a 
thought. 



Tourists Accommodated 


31 

“It’s strange that he doesn’t know about it,” she 
thought. "Funny that somebody doesn’t write to him 
or at least to Aunt Bess about it. It’s a lucky thing 
for me that precious Arthur Phillips and his fam¬ 
ily moved away from the Block, before I began 
the business. Mrs. Phillips would have been sure to 
tell Aunt Bess.” 

Natalie decided that she could stand this secrecy 
no longer. She would write to her father at once and 
make a clean breast of it. She was sure he would 
understand—why it was exactly the sort of thing he 
would have done in her place, she said to console 
herself. 

Just as she was about to write the letter, however, 
Teddy came in one door with a handful of new 
menus which he had just printed and Cindy in an¬ 
other with a large chocolate layer cake for Natalie 
to sample. 

As Cindy left the room, Natalie heard one of her 
"lady tourists” speaking to her. "Do I settle my bill 
with you or the little lame girl?” the woman asked. 

"Miss Harding am in the dining room. You pays 
her,” Cindy responded with dignity. 

Natalie’s cheeks were crimson when the stranger 
came into the room. "I’ll send you all the people I 
can, dear,” the woman gushed, as she paid Natalie. 
"I think you are a very brave little lady to do so 
much, and I want to help you all I can.” 



i 3 2 


Natalie 


The old tomboy temper had not departed entirely, 
however, from the character of Natalie Harding. 
"Don't you dare come here because you are sorry for 
me," she cried, her eyes biasing, "You come because 
it's a clean place and the best food north of the 
Mason and Dixon line and you know it!" 

"Aw, Nats, don't get sore at people like that," 
remonstrated Teddy after the startled woman had 
hastily withdrawn. "You never used to act this way." 

"Well," said Natalie, who was beginning to be a 
little bit ashamed of her outburst, "I wish people had 
the decency to keep their remarks to themselves." 

"She didn't mean any harm," Teddy replied. 
"Gee, Nats, you're getting awful touchy." 

"Maybe I am and you know what you can do 
about it if you don't like it, Teddy Davis," Natalie 
answered flippantly. Then, seeing Teddy's crestfallen 
face, she relented. "Here, have a hunk of Cindy's 
cake and quit worrying about me." 

"No thanks," said Teddy, "I’m in training." 

"At this time of year? What on earth for? Foot- 
ball is over and baseball's not begun." 

"Well, the coach wants a slick team this year and 
he asked some of us to come out early. When he 
looked me over he said I was getting too fat and 
advised me to cut out starches and sweets. Sounds 
crasy, I know, but gee, Nats, there's a chance for 
me to make the team this year and—" 












































































Tourists Accommodated 


J 35 


“Okay,” said Natalie, icily. “The more for me,” 
and she took a large bite. “Glad I don't have to 
bother about that fool stuff anymore.” And even 
Teddy knew she wasn't telling the truth. 

There was a ring at the door. “Maybe it's another 
customer,” said Natalie. “Excuse me.” 

She limped to the door and opened it to find a 
young man muffled to the eyebrows with a large 
woolen scarf. 

“Do you take in tourists here?” asked a gruff voice, 
which somehow sounded vaguely familiar. 

“Yes, sir,” answered Natalie, in her most crisp and 
business-like tone. “Single or double? My terms 
are—” 

“Okay, Nats,” the voice was no longer gruff and 
now it was perfectly familiar. 

“Why Cuz-zen Dick!” cried Natalie. “Oh, do come 
in! How perfectly swell to see you!” 




Chapter X 

THE PLAIN UNVARNISHED TRUTH 
“Who is the nice kid?” asked Dick, after Teddy 
had made his departure. They were seated at the 
dining room table consuming large pieces of Cindy’s 
delicious cake washed down with draughts of cocoa. 

“That’s Teddy Davis, the boy next door,” an' 
swered Natalie, and, in her heart she added, “The 
only friend I have in Buffalo.” Aloud she said, 
“Teddy has been helping me with my Tourist Home.” 

“This tourist home business was something of a 
shock to me, Nats,” Dick confessed. “Of course I 
couldn’t resist the temptation of pretending to be a 
136 



The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


137 


customer when I saw the sign on the door. Tell me, 
how did you happen to go in for such a thing?” 

“Well, you see, Cindy and I are here all alone most 
of the time and I got to thinking how silly it is for 
all this room to go to waste, and Daddy having to pay 
Cindy wages just to cook for me. And—well—I 
guess Dad’s new business isn’t paying him very much, 
not right at first, although I am sure it will soon. 
And Dad doesn’t manage to get home very often, 
you see, and, oh, I don’t know, Dick—it just seemed 
sort of sensible. Dad’s going to get an awful shock 
when there aren’t any grocery bills this month. Just 
think, we’ve made expenses!” 

“So your father doesn’t know about this, eh?” 
said Dick. “Don’t you think you should tell him? 
Of course I can understand your not telling your 
aunt. I’m sure she would say that running a tourist 
home just ’isn’t done’ by a young lady.” Dick made 
a wry face. “I don’t mean to be rude about your 
relatives, Nats,” he said, contritely. “It’s just that that 
lady scares me cross-eyed. But honestly I think you 
ought to tell your dad. He’d be a good sport about 
it. I’m sure, unless—” Dick hesitated. 

“Unless what?” prompted Natalie. 

“Well, unless you are doing too much for your 
health. You don’t look so hot, Natalie. How are you 
feeling?” 

“I’m all right. Honestly I am. And running this 



138 


Natalie 


place is a lot better than doing nothing. It's pretty 
lonesome here with Dad away all the time. You see, 
when we made this plan of keeping house together 
we thought Daddy would be home much more of the 
time than it has turned out that he is. That’s why I 
came back to Buffalo.” 

“Well, I expect you have all your old friends to 
keep you company,” said Dick. 

“Oh, yes, sure,” said Natalie, hastily. They paused 
to do justice to Cindy’s cookery and for a moment 
Natalie was tempted to take her good friend into her 
confidence and tell him the whole story, beginning 
with the unhappy night of the Autumn Ball. But no, 
kind and understanding as Dick undoubtedly was, he 
was a boy after all. He could not possibly understand 
what it meant to a girl to be unpopular and a walk 
flower. So the moment passed and she asked Dick 
instead what he was doing in Buffalo. 

“It looks as if I’m going to have a break with the 
paper, Nats,” the boy answered, eagerly. “I owe my 
start to your dad, of course, but the editor seems to 
like my stuff. He asked me if I thought I could do a 
strip for kids to appear daily as well as the Saturday 
night cartoon of Minnie. I sent him some of those 
old things I used to draw for Marujita at the hospital, 
remember? Of course I fixed ’em up a little.” 

“Why, Dick, that’s great! You’ll be rich!” 

“Not so fast,” answered Dick with a laugh. “The 



The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


139 


editor isn't throwing his money away. He keeps re¬ 
minding me of my youth and inexperience if I ever 
dare stick out my head and ask for a raise. But of 
course it will mean some more money. By the way, 
he keeps trying to get me to move to Buffalo, so he 
can keep me under his eye!” 

“And will you?” Natalie asked, hopefully. 

“No sir—ma'am!” said Dick, emphatically. “I'm 
really getting somewhere at Art School this term, 
Nats, now that I have time enough and all the energy 
I used to waste on that errand boy job. And I 
wouldn't give up Art School now for a dozen jobs 
in Buffalo!” 

“But with Art School and Minnie Mis-hap, will 
you have time for this new strip, too?” 

“I'm not worried about the new strip,” answered 
Dick. “I've been doing stuff like that all my life and 
I've got a stack of sketch books full of stories, just 
like your kid diaries you told me about. But Minnie 
has me worried. I can do the drawings easily enough. 
Nothing to it. But it's the plots, or incidents, as the 
editor calls them. That's my weak spot. The editor 
never lets me forget how my predecessor was never 
at a loss for an idea for an amusing incident,” and 
Dick mimicked the editor’s voice and manner. 

“Of course, Nats,” he went on, “your Dad passed 
on a lot of ideas for Minnie to me when I first took 
over the strip, so as to help me get started. But they 



140 


Natalie 


are all gone now, as well as some ideas of my own. 
Say look here. How would you like to work for me? 
You used to help your Dad with Minnie, I know. 
I’d pay you for every idea I could use. It would be 
much more pleasant work than running a rooming 
house, I should think, and more your style.” 

“I wish I could, Dick,” Natalie answered, “al- 
though I don’t think you ought to pay me for it. 
But honestly, I don’t seem to be thinking about 
Minnie anymore, let alone drawing anything. I’ve 
been studying rather hard since I got back. You see, 
if I pass my midyears with high marks I might have 
credits enough to graduate. Then maybe I wouldn’t 
have to stick around here until June.” 

“But I thought you were so set on coming back 
to Buffalo for your whole last year,” Dick exclaimed 
in astonishment. 

“Well,” said Natalie, trying to keep her lip from 
quivering, “I was wrong.” Fearing that Dick might 
ask her to explain what she meant, she quickly 
changed the subject, and gave him a sprightly ac¬ 
count of the trials and tribulations she and Cindy had 
endured getting their Tourist Home started. 

As they talked, the two friends siz,ed each other 
up. “He isn’t quite so untidy as he used to be,” 
Natalie thought to herself. “But oh, I wish he would 
tie his tie straight, once in awhile. He is so nice, I 
wish I dared tell him.” 



The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


141 

And Dick was thinking, “What’s come over the 
kid? She seems so sad. And she used to be so pretty. 
Wonder why she limps so much — why, she was 
straighter than this when she first came out of the 
hospital.” 

Dick made Natalie’s Tourist Home his headquar¬ 
ters during his stay in Buffalo. Natalie was glad that 
his visit coincided with her Christmas holidays, for 
it enabled them to spend a great deal of time together. 
It was great fun having a companionable artist person 
around the house again. Dick had something of the 
spontaneous, eager manner that made her father such 
a splendid pal. When an idea for a sketch popped 
into his head, nothing would do but that he must 
translate the thought to paper, then and there. Cindy 
took care to have a scratch pad always at hand for 
this impetuous young man, even at meal times, for 
Dick was no respecter of tablecloths. 

With Minnie Mis-hap again a member of the 
household, so to speak, Natalie found her thoughts 
turning to the old character, after all. One morning, 
while Dick was scowling over his drawings in the 
library, Cindy, with Natalie’s help, was cleaning 
one of the bedrooms in readiness for a customer. 
Cindy never did things by halves. She had lifted up 
the mattress in her strong black arms to turn it over, 
when her foot slipped, and down she fell, sprawled 
flat on the mattress. Natalie had a hard time keeping 



142 


Natalie 


a straight face. But after a thorough examination 
proved to Cindy that no bones were broken, she 
joined in the laughter. Hearing the commotion, Dick 
came upstairs, three steps at a time, to see what had 
happened. 

“Dick,” cried Natalie, eagerly, “I’ve got it! Let’s 
have Minnie run a tourist home!” 

“Atta girl!” Dick shouted. “It’s good for a series 
lasting weeks. My headaches are over!” He caught 
Natalie around the waist to dance a jig with her over 
her brilliant idea. Smiling, she took one step with 
him. Then she remembered. She coldly withdrew 
and limped out of the room. 

“You mustn’t be so rambunctious, Mister Dick,” 
said Cindy, severely. “Poor little girl!” 

The incident put ideas into Dick’s head. And that 
afternoon, when he persuaded Natalie to go with him 
to Buffalo’s beautiful art gallery, his suspicions were 
confirmed. For he noticed that while Natalie was 
going from picture to picture, engrossed and inter¬ 
ested in the beautiful treasures, she scarcely limped 
at all. Was that limp a pose, he wondered? Did Nat¬ 
alie consciously put it on? “Dam it all,” he said to 
himself, “I wish I knew what’s wrong with her! 
Maybe if I can find out I can make her snap out of it.” 

Strange, he thought, that her father and aunt and 
uncle left her alone, rattling around in that old house 
with nobody but a colored woman for company. And 




The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


143 


she seemed to have no friends at all except the boy 
next door. Where were all the others that Natalie 
used to be so enthusiastic about when she was in 
New York? Somebody ought to do something. 

Should he, Dick Frost, write her father about it? 
No, you couldn’t just write to a man and say, “Dear 
Mr. Harding, your daughter is a mess. Why doesn’t 
somebody take care of her?” Should he tell her aunt 
about it when he returned to New York? No thanks! 
But the doctor, Natalie’s uncle, he seemed a good 
sort. “But maybe I’m wrong,” he told himself. “May' 
be after an operation like that a girl would always 
be stiff and awkward. Anyway the doctor would worn 
der where I got off telling him his business.” So ran 
Dick’s thoughts. 

“No,” he decided. “It’s up to me, and I’d rather 
take a licking than hurt the poor kid’s feelings, but 
somebody’s got to shame her into doing something 
for herself. How in the name of Pete, Mike and 
Jehosophat shall I go about it?” 

As they went home from the gallery, Natalie hen 
self gave Dick the opportunity to learn more about 
the situation. She was asking him how her little 
friend of hospital days, his small cousin, Marujita, 
was getting on. 

“Fine!” Dick replied, happily. “No more limp' 
walk.’ You know, Nats, that kid is a wonder. They 
told her at the hospital that the only way she could 



i 4 4 


Natalie 


get straight and strong was to do some exercises that 
they gave her, every day. And she does them too, 
no matter how tired she is. If her mother had her 
way, Marujita would sit on a cushion doing nothing, 
all day long. Did they give you any exercises when 
you left the hospital, Nats?” he asked innocently. 

“Yes,” answered Natalie, coldly. “They did, but 
the exercises were no good. I have given them up.” 

So Dick decided to try an experiment. They had 
returned from the gallery and were waiting for Cindy 
to serve them supper. Natalie went up to her room 
and Dick was lolling around downstairs. Suddenly 
Natalie heard a crash, followed by a thud, as though 
some heavy body had fallen — then a loud moan. 
Natalie came running down the stairs. Running! 
There stretched on a rug before the fireplace was 
Richard Frost, his eyes closed, his mouth twitching 
with pain, and a blood-stained handkerchief clasped 
against his forehead! 

“Oh, Dick, dear, dear Dick, are you hurt?” she 
cried. 

Before her startled eyes, the figure on the rug 
calmly got to his feet, and wiped the bloodstains from 
his forehead. 

“One of your customers conveniently left some 
lipstick behind,” he said. “Very thoughtful of her. 
It helped my act.” 

Natalie was quivering with anger. “I suppose that’s 



The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


145 


your idea of a joke / 1 she said, her voice breaking. 
“To scare me out of my wits like that. Well, if that's 
the case, you have a rotten sense of humor . 11 She 
burst into tears. 

But Dick paid no attention to her outburst. “No, 
it wasn't a joke , 11 he replied sternly. “It was a test, 
and I've proved my theory . 11 

“What on earth are you talking about?" demanded 
Natalie, her voice still shaken with sobs. 

“I'm talking about you, Natalie." Dick crossed the 
room and put his hands on her shoulders. “This 
morning when you and Cindy were cleaning the 
room and this afternoon at the Art Gallery, I noticed 
that you didn't limp, when you forgot to. Do you 
know what I made you do by my fake accident? I 
made you run! You ran all the way downstairs, not 
at all like the poor little lame girl you pretend to be. 
I don't know what your game is, or why you do it, 
but it's a silly idea if you ask me, and I'd quit it if I 
were you." 

Natalie shook his hands from her shoulders. “And 
you did that to me, you scared the life out of me, 
making me think you were badly hurt, maybe killed, 
for a reason like that? Oh, I hate you, I hate you!" 

“No you don't, and you're going to listen to me, 
Natalie, while I tell you the plain, unvarnished truth. 
Something has happened to you—you’re not the girl 
you used to be—not that swell, brave kid that came 



146 


Natalie 


out of the hospital and tried so hard to walk. Now, 
look at you. You don’t take the exercises that your 
uncle gave you to make you stand straight. You fill 
yourself up with candy and cake—why you could 
start a bakery with the amount of cake you tuck 
away in one day. I’ve watched you! You never fix 
yourself up and go anywhere or do anything. You 
just mope around this joint all day long. And you’re 
even getting fat!” 

“Is that so?” Natalie retorted. “I suppose the fact 
that I’m getting grand marks at school means that 
I’m no good. The teachers just give them to me for 
doing nothing. Oh, yes! I suppose the fact that 
Cindy and I are making money out of this house 
means that I do nothing but twiddle my thumbs and 
eat cake all day. Well now, I’ll tell you something, 
Mr. Richard Frost, I’ll tell you a few of your plain, 
unvarnished truths, and when I’m through I never 
want to see you again as long as I live. You talk 
about how I look. Yew talk! Ha, ha, ha! When Aunt 
Bess hated to have you come to her flat in New York, 
because of how you look, when Dad pretty nearly 
couldn’t get you the job, because of how you look— 
when your clothes and ties look as if they had come 
out of a rag bag—just look at yourself, Mr. Bossy 
Frost. And you dare talk to me /” 

But Richard Frost did not hear the end of Natalie’s 
tirade. For the front door had slammed behind him. 




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The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


i49 


Cindy came down the hall, her eyes wide open. 
"Land sakes, chile, why you chillun talk so mean?” 

"Never mind,” snapped Natalie. "Supper for one, 
Cindy, and I hope there's lots of cake. Mr. Frost has 
left!” But her bad temper left her and she threw hep 
self against the ample bosom of the kind old woman. 
"Oh, Cindy,” she sobbed, "I hate everybody in the 
world but you and Daddy and Miss Lee and—” 

"There, there, chile,” said Cindy, comfortingly. 
"You doan hate nobody. You'se jes’ mad at the 
young man. Doan cry. Tell Cindy all about it.” 

But there was nothing to tell that Cindy would 
understand, and right after supper, Natalie went to 
her room. Taking the shade off her student lamp she 
moved the light before the mirror on her dressing 
table. She studied her reflection long and carefully. 
She did not spare herself. She noted that her coim 
plexion, once so clear and fresh, was pasty, that her 
hair was lifeless and disheveled, and worst of all, that 
her body was crooked. "He's right,” she admitted, 
"All but the fat—well, and he's a little bit right about 
that, too,” she admitted reluctantly. "He took a 
mean way to tell me and I'll never forgive him as 
long as I live, but he's right. Okay, Natalie Harding,” 
she said to her reflection in the glass, "it's up to you. 
Maybe it’s too late to do anything about getting your 
body straight, but you can do something about the 
rest of yourself.” 



150 


Natalie 


Next day she bought several women’s magazines 
as well as a periodical devoted to physical improve' 
ment. She studied all the advertisements and read, 
carefully, every beauty hint. It happened that one 
magazine had an article on dieting to lose weight, 
giving menus, meal by meal, for two weeks. It was 
headed “HOW FILM STARS KEEP OFF 
POUNDAGE.’’ Natalie sniffed. “If they can do it, 
I can,’’ she vowed. 

Lucinda listened in horror as her young mistress 
outlined the meals for the next few days. 

“But, chile,” she protested, “what yomall goin’ to 
eat?” 

“What I told you, Cindy. Now don’t argue with 
me.” 

“I never heard tell of no cytrus fruits. What are 
they?” 

“Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clemens,” 
quoted Natalie, gaily. “And grapefruit, especially 
grapefruit. Come on, it will do you good too, and 
believe, me Lucinda Marianna Meeker, if you ever 
so much as show me a piece of chocolate cake again, 
you and I will go out of business!” 

Lucinda shook her head in dismay. But Natalie 
was adamant. Oh, it wasn’t easy! She often longed 
to give it all up and go back to her lazy, heedless 
ways, but she had only to recall any one of Richard 
Frost’s remarks to regain her determination. Some' 



The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


151 

times the fragrant smell of Cindy’s waffles made her 
mouth water, but she valiantly sucked a lemon, and 
felt very noble! 

Dieting was only a small part of her scheme. She 
answered practically every advertisement for beauty 
helps that the magazines published, and a stream of 
samples came through the mail. Each night she tried 
one or two creams or lotions. It was a remarkable 
thing that her skin survived such treatment, but it 
did. For along with the manufactured aids to beauty, 
she included the best aid of all—faithful, regular 
exercise. 

Each morning and night as faithfully as little Maru- 
jita, Natalie went through the exercises that Uncle 
Bill had given her. At first she was so stiff and sore 
that it was agony to move, but she kept it up. As 
she grew more limber she repeated the exercises each 
afternoon when she returned from school, and she 
added one of her own. A long hall stretched midway 
through the Harding house, at one end of which 
was a large mirror. Fifty times a day she walked a 
crack down the centre of the hall, one foot behind 
the other, Indian fashion, her head up. And she 
gradually improved in posture. 

On the street, however, especially in the vicinity 
of the school building, she limped as of old. She was 
not going to let her enemies see a change and com¬ 
ment upon it! Even Teddy was not told the secret. 



152 


Natalie 


Although she still studied hard, she devoted more 
and more time outside school hours, to her exercises. 
She was far from satisfied with the progress she was 
making. Why, her posture was awful! Would she 
ever be erect again? No matter how diligently she 
followed the advice in the Health Magazine, she 
could not see that it helped her much. Was there 
someone who might give her a little advice? If only 
Miss Lee’s patient in Albany would get well, so that 
Natalie could see Miss Lee. Somehow this was not 
the sort of thing one could put in a letter. 

Uncle Bill’s exercises took so long to show results. 
Was there no speedier means? Then she remembered 
how Louisa May Alcott’s Jill had helped her back 
grow straight after her accident, by lying on a board. 
She would utilize all those hours at night when she 
was asleep teaching her back to be straight! 

At first she tried the ironing board, but that was 
too short, so she hired a carpenter to cut off the top 
of an old kitchen table. That was just right. 

Every night thereafter, poor Lucinda, shaking her 
head and protesting to no avail, strapped the girl’s 
arms and ankles to the board. “Anything as uncom- 
fortable as this must be good for me,” Natalie said. 
But in spite of the discomfort, it did not produce the 
desired result. 

The high school authorities had excused Natalie 
from gymnasium exercises since her accident, and 



The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


153 


Miss Verdrey, the teacher of gymnastics for girls, 
had had very little contact with Natalie. She knew 
the girl’s story, however, from her old friend, Leo- 
nora Hart. So she was surprised and delighted when 
Natalie telephoned her one evening and asked if she 
might come to see her to talk over some business. 

Natalie told Miss Verdrey the problems that were 
perplexing her and the remedies she had been trying, 
and the teacher had the good sense to show neither 
horror nor amusement at the girl’s drastic measures. 

“I’ll help you all I can, Natalie,” she said kindly, 
“but first I think you should see your doctor to be 
sure that such strenuous exercises won’t hurt you.” 

“Oh, no,” Natalie cried. “I don’t want to do that. 
Nobody needs a doctor just to take exercises. See 
here,” she showed Miss Verdrey some of the health 
culture magazines she had been trying to follow. “I 
can’t seem to get the hang of the stuff it tells you 
to do in these books. I thought maybe I could get 
you to help me after school. I’m earning a little 
money now. Would you let me pay you for your 
time?” 

“Come and see me tomorrow night,” Miss Verdrey 
suggested, “and I’ll have a plan of exercises worked 
out to give you. But there isn’t to be any money, 
silly girl. I’ll be glad to help for the fun of it.” 

After Natalie had left, Miss Verdrey rang up Dr. 
Burgess to whom she told the story, but she asked 



154 


Natalie 


the kind old doctor to be discreet. “I don’t want 
Natalie to think I have broken her confidence,” Miss 
Verdrey explained, “but of course I would not dare 
prescribe exercises for her until you have examined 
her and given your consent.” 

So, as far as Natalie knew, it was just by chance 
that Dr. Burgess happened to pass by her house next 
day as she was coming in from school. He asked if 
he might come in and warm his hands at her fire. 

When Cindy saw who the caller was, she brought 
in a tray with tea and scones, and the doctor and 
Natalie enjoyed a little visit together. As they talked 
of casual things, he was secretly studying the girl. 

“Have another scone, Doctor,” said Natalie. 
“They are all for you. I don’t eat them myself. Too 
fattening.” 

Now Dr. Burgess had not ministered to people old 
and young for forty years without learning a good 
deal about the human heart, even when it beat in a 
sixteen-year old breast. And soon Natalie, to her 
own surprise, found herself telling the good doctor 
of her worry about her physical condition. 

“Don’t say anything to my father or to anyone, 
Dr. Burgess,” she said. “I don’t want them to worry 
about me, but I d like to have you look me over and 
see if I am getting along all right. I am trying to take 
exercises to get myself in fit shape again, if I can— 
if there isn’t anything wrong with me, I mean.” 



The Plain Unvarnished Truth 


155 


“Very good, my dear,” the Doctor answered. 
“There's no time like the present. Let's have a look 
at you now.” 

Lucinda, bringing in a fresh pot of tea, heard these 
words with joy. Back in her kitchen, seated in her 
copious arm chair, she rocked back and forth, her 
face beaming. 

“Oh, thank de Lawd,” she said, softly. “Thank de 
good Lawd God!” 




Chapter XI 

WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE 


"Good luck come one by one, but trouble come in 
bunches,” Lucinda was fond of saying. But perhaps 
the good fairy who watched over Natalie Harding 
had decided to change Natalie’s luck and let it be 
both plentiful and good. 

One morning the postman arrived with a letter 
that made the world sing for Natalie, for it bore an 
Albany postmark and it read, "My nice old lady who 
has been ill for so long has recovered and does not 
156 


When Dreams Come True 


157 


need me any more. As I am very tired after this 
long and trying case, I think I will go home for a 
good long rest with my family in Panama. But I 
cannot bear to go so far away without seeing you 
first. Have you room in your Tourist Home for a 
steady customer, steady for a week or two, I mean? 
Miss Lee.” 

“Now how did she know about my Tourist 
Home?” asked Natalie, after hastening to reply that 
there was a heart always full of room for Miss Lee 
at Harding Hall. Natalie had forgotten that Miss 
Verdrey and Miss Lee were friends. And she did 
not know that ever since her first visit to Miss Ver 
drey’s home. Miss Lee had been receiving frequent 
reports about her. 

Natalie was sitting in the kitchen with Cindy, 
making plans for Miss Lee’s visit and studying the 
calendar. “Oh, Cindy,” she cried, “that six weeks’ 
trip of Daddy’s will be over just about the time Miss 
Lee plans to get here. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if 
the three of us could be back in Harding Hall to- 
gether again with you to take care of us?” 

“What you goin’ to do about the towerists. Miss 
Natalie,” asked Cindy, “when your pappy comes 
home?” 

“Oh, I’m going to take a chance on Daddy’s not 
minding, Cindy. I think maybe he suspects that 
something is going on anyway. His last letter said 



i 5 8 


Natalie 


that judging by the size of the grocery bills you and 
I must be living on air . 11 

“You tell your pappy it ain't air, but it might as 
well be ! 11 Natalie's diet was still a sore point with 
Lucinda. “Grapefruit! Land sakes, chile, I should 
think you would be ashamed to look one of them 
things in the face!” 

“Cheer up, old dear, you can bake cakes and pie 
and beaten biscuits to your heart's content, when 
Daddy comes home!” Oh, those were wonderful 
words: “When Daddy comes home!” She said them 
over and over to herself, for they had a beautiful 
sound. 

Miss Lee timed her arrival in Buffalo during school 
hours, for she wanted to have a talk with Dr. Bun 
gess before she saw Natalie. She learned many things, 
some of which would have greatly surprised Nat¬ 
alie—of the X-ray picture he had taken, with a full 
account of the girl's condition which he had sent to 
Dr. Rodgers after the accidental tea party; and that 
the exercises, which Miss Verdrey had given her, 
had all been prescribed by Uncle Bill. 

“When Dr. Rodgers and I learned from the X-ray 
I sent him that there was nothing the matter with 
the bones, we worked out a good system of exercises 
which I passed on to Miss Verdrey who, by the way, 
made Natalie throw away the board on which she 
had been sleeping every night. The child has been 



When Dreams Come True 


159 


suffering not from lameness, but from worry and lone- 
liness. She has pulled herself together and is coming 
along splendidly. I am proud of her.” The old doc¬ 
tor blew his nose violently, and Miss Lee openly 
wiped her eyes. 

“I can’t think what her father means by leaving 
her alone so much. It isn’t like him to be so neglect¬ 
ful,” the old doctor went on. 

"He does not realize Natalie’s condition, I am 
sure,” answered Miss Lee, hotly. She could not bear 
to have anyone criticize Donald Harding. "No doubt 
Natalie has made him believe everything is all right.” 

"Where are his eyes, then?” the doctor snorted. 

"In the Far West where he is trying desperately 
hard to put a new business on its feet, to make a liv¬ 
ing for Natalie. You know as well as I do that if 
Donald Harding had not been away, Natalie would 
never have got herself into such a state!” Miss Lee 
spoke with more vehemence than she knew. 

"Oh-ho!” said Dr. Burgess to himself, "so that’s 
the way the wind lies, is it? And a fine thing it would 
be too, for if ever a child needed a home and a family, 
it is my little Natalie.” 

"Well,” he said aloud, "I mean to have a straight 
talk with the gentleman when he returns. Of course 
I know he has been worried about business affairs, 
so I won’t be too hard on him. I hope for Natalie’s 
sake as well as his own that his business is improving, 




i6o 


Natalie 


for Rodgers and I both want to prescribe a complete 
change of scene for the child. That’s what she needs.” 

Miss Lee was watching from the library window of 
Harding Hall and saw Natalie coming home from 
school. She tapped on the pane, and Natalie’s heart 
skipped a beat when she saw who was there. With 
a cry of joy she ran into the house, and soon they 
were in each other’s arms, laughing and crying, while 
the beaming Lucinda looked on. 

Before she slept that night, Natalie had confided 
most of the story to her beloved friend. She told of 
the Autumn Ball and the talk she had overheard 
among the boys, and of the long, lonely days with 
Daddy away so much. And then of her fear that, 
in spite of the exercises, she might never be really 
like other girls again. But of that “plain, unvarnished 
truth” from the lips of Richard Frost, she said noth' 
ing. 

“You and I with the best intentions in the world 
have been neglecting this girl, Donald Harding,” 
wrote Miss Lee to Natalie’s father, late that night, 
after Natalie had gone to sleep. “Oh, I know we 
have both been busy, but haven’t we taken a little 
too much for granted? I am going to tell you the 
story of Natalie’s winter as she told it to me, for 
I want you to be in possession of the facts before 
you see her. And then we must take Dr. Burgess’ 
advice and give her a complete change of scene. She 



When Dreams Come True 


161 


needs companionship with young people who don’t 
know her story, who do not look upon her as a crip- 
pie, as the youngsters here in Buffalo do. That will 
build up her confidence in herself as nothing else can. 
She has done so much for herself, now let’s help her 
a little. My family will welcome her in Panama—let 
me take her there with me for my vacation. If we 
travel tourist class the trip will cost you little more 
than you would have to spend maintaining this estab' 
lishment for that length of time.” 

Then followed the story as Miss Lee had heard it 
from Natalie’s lips. Miss Lee did not spare herself, 
nor for that matter, did she spare the Rodgers, nor 
Donald Harding himself! 

Forty-eight hours after he read Miss Lee’s letter, 
Natalie’s father was speeding home to Buffalo. When 
he saw the sign, "Tourists Accommodated” which 
decorated his ancestral home, his eyes filled with 
tears. "The poor, game little idiot!” he said softly. 

"Rat'a'tat'tat!” His familiar knock sounded on the 
door. Natalie, with Miss Lee and Cindy, only a step 
or two behind her, rushed to the door. And soon 
Daddy’s arms were around her and Daddy’s voice 
was saying huskily their old greeting, "Hi, Nats, 
how’s things?” 

It was a happy homecoming. "Just like old times,” 
said Natalie, as Cindy, her face one enormous grin, 
summoned them to dinner. 



162 


Natalie 


“Better than old times,” answered Donald Har¬ 
ding, as he seated himself before a platter heaped 
with Cindy’s justly famous fried chicken and spoon 
bread. “Frankly, I always did prefer eating in a 
proper dining room to a bedroom, or even a sleeping 
porch. This is the first respectable meal the three 
of us have ever shared together.” 

Two days after he arrived, Donald Harding re¬ 
moved the sign from the door. 

“No, my dear,” he said firmly, when Natalie 
begged that she and Cindy be allowed to continue 
their business, “Miss Lee and I have other plans for 
you which we will discuss tonight after dinner. Mean¬ 
while, look at this.” 

It was Saturday night. Daddy held out the Buffalo 
Daily News open at the page on which the weekly 
Minnie cartoon was always printed. “Here’s our old 
friend Minnie in a new role,” said Daddy. “She is 
running a Tourist Home. Now I wonder where our 
young Mr. Frost could have got that idea?” he asked 
with a twinkle in his eye. 

“Well,” exclaimed Natalie, “this explains the mys¬ 
terious piece of mail that I found in the mail box 
today. Look here,” she said, holding out a sheet of 
paper to Miss Lee and her father. 

It was a bill of the kind that can be bought at any 
stationery store. Under the usual heading was typed: 



When Dreams Come True 


^63 

To Miss Natalie Harding 

For one whale of a good idea $50.00 
Kindly send receipt to Richard Frost 

192 Waverly Place 
New York City 

Rec’d Payment. 

And accompanying this amazing document was a 
money order for fifty dollars! 

“I’ve never been so rich in my life,” said Natalie. 
“I don’t think I ought to take it, though.” 

“If you have started him on a new series for Min- 
nie it is worth it to him, dear,” her father answered. 
“I’d take it if I were you.” 

“He would have his feelings badly hurt if you 
didn’t,” put in Miss Lee. 

So Natalie sat down and signed her name under 
“Rec’d Payment.” Then she added, “P.S. I think it 
is too much, but thank you anyway.” 

“Is that all you are going to say,” her father asked 
in surprise. 

“Yes,” said Natalie in a very small voice. “If he 
had wanted to hear more about me he would have 
asked.” 

“All right, young lady, you know your own mind 
better than I do. You have certainly proved that, 
he went on with a heartfelt sigh. “What are you go' 
ing to do with your riches?” 




164 


Natalie 


“Turn them right spang into the Harding bank 
account for you to use however you want to, Daddy. 
That’s what you do with your earnings, so why 
shouldn’t I?” 

“Maybe because we can cook up a better way to 
spend them,” her father replied. “Nats,” he went on, 
“do you remember the council of war that I once 
called in New York? Well, now I want to call an- 
other one. In the two days I have been home, I have 
learned many things about a certain young woman 
whom I thought I knew. I have talked to several 
people who know more about what she has been up 
to than I do. No, my dear, don’t interrupt. I have 
the floor. 

“For instance, I have learned from the grocer the 
reason you and Cindy have stopped having grocery 
bills for me to pay. I have learned from Mr. Collins 
at the high school that, except for a course in Mod¬ 
em History, you have enough credits to graduate 
right now. He says that you could study that course 
from far away, if you happened to be far away, and 
take your examination by mail, and never have to set 
foot in Buffalo High again if you don’t want to, 
although he hopes you will want to come back to 
graduate with your class in June. However, he would 
even mail you your diploma if you liked. 

“And I’ve learned from Miss Verdrey and Dr. Bur¬ 
gess and by long distance from Bill Rodgers, that 



When Dreams Come True 


165 


you've got yourself in fine shape again, even if you 
did get off to a bad start. And from Miss Lee I've 
learned," he stopped and turning to Leonora Hart, 
he made a little bow and grinned sheepishly, "well, 
I've learned a lot about you and me and life and even 
the Constitution of the United States," he finished 
lamely. "In fact, my darling Nats, I've been talked 
to like a Dutch uncle. And the long and short of it 
is—well, maybe it's your turn, Miss Lee." 

"Nats," said Miss Lee, smiling at them both, "if 
a fairy godmother came into this room and said, 
'Natalie, you may have any wish you like', what 
would you say?" 

"Hold on a minute," protested Donald Harding. 
"Don't give the girl an opening like that. She'll 
swamp us! Let's limit the fairy godmother’s offer to 
something reasonable, as for instance, 'Where would 
you like to go if you could take a trip?' " 

Natalie who had been wondering whether her 
father and Miss Lee had taken leave of their senses, 
began to understand. 

"A trip?" she asked. Suddenly all the happy mem¬ 
ories of the days she and Miss Lee had spent talking 
of the Isthmus of Panama came back to her. She re¬ 
membered the long nights at the hospital when sleep 
would not come, and how she had comforted herself 
with the dream that some fine day they would go 
traveling together. Was this what her father meant? 



166 


Natalie 


She believed it was. With shining eyes she said one 
word—a word which for her had come to mean 
romance and adventure in strange, far-away places, 
“Panama! 1 ’ 

Miss Lee laughed. “Then you will be glad to see 
this, Nats,” she said, and handed the girl a folded 
cablegram. Natalie opened it and read: 

DELIGHTED TO HAVE YOU COME AND BRING NATALIE 
HOPE YOU WILL STAY ALL SPRING CABLE WHEN 

PETE 

“Oh, how wonderful,” cried Natalie. “But wait 
a minute. What on earth are we talking about! How 
can I possibly go on such an expensive trip? You 
know we can’t afford it, Dad.” 

“Suppose you let somebody else worry about 
finances for a change,” her father answered. “Some¬ 
times, in spite of what Cindy has to say to the con¬ 
trary, good luck comes in bunches, too. Bess and I 
have sold this house to a syndicate which is going to 
put up an apartment house that will nearly cover 
the whole block. Fortunately they do not want to 
start tearing down the houses for several months, so 
many of the families are going to continue living here 
for awhile. But as far as the Hardings are concerned, 
our only use for Harding Hall until its demolition 
will be for furniture storage.” 

“Have they paid for the house?” asked Natalie. 

“Some of it, on account. More than enough for 



When Dreams Come True 


167 


me to pay for your trip, and Aunt Bess wants to use 
some of her money to get you some new togs to wear 
in the tropics. We can't think of any way that either 
of us would rather spend the money from the sale 
of Harding Hall." 

“I could pay for part of the trip with this money 
from Dick," said Natalie. 

“No, darling. You save that money to spend for 
something you very much want to do—something 
you could not possibly do if you didn't have money 
of your very own. Please don't deprive me of the 
fun of paying for your trip, my dear. I want to do 
something to try to make up for this terrible year 
you have had." 

Natalie put her finger across her father’s lips. 
“Don't say such silly things, Daddy," she said. “Most 
of the trouble this year has been my own fault. Please 
let's not worry any more. It's all over. But Daddy, 
how about Cindy? What will she do for a job if we 
sell the house and all go away?" 

Her father chuckled. “Cindy is as pleased as punch. 
She has been longing to go back to North Carolina to 
see her twin grandchildren, but hasn't wanted to 
leave you. Aren't we a funny lot? Each of us doing 
things we thought the other fellow wanted, and all 
of us being so woefully mistaken? Well, one of these 
days we may ask Cindy to rejoin us in our new home 
which will probably be either in New York or Chi' 



i68 


Natalie 


cago. It looks as if 111 soon be through doing leg 
work for the company and able to settle down and 
have my home and my girl again. Then we will see. 1 ' 

"And you are sure it's all right about school, Dad,” 
Natalie persisted, "to leave in the middle of the year, 
I mean?” 

"Mr. Collins went all over the situation with me,” 
her father assured her. "Apparently you have been 
about wearing out the school books. He wants you 
to go in to see him on Monday and get your Modem 
History course. Then you’ll be all set.” 

So it was decided. Natalie and Miss Lee planned 
to stay as short a time as possible in Buffalo, for they 
had many things to do in New York in the fortnight 
before the boat was to sail. Together they packed 
away Natalie’s books and clothes, except a few items 
in her present wardrobe which she would take to 
Panama with her. 

In the bottom of her trunk in the attic, hidden 
away under her trophies where she had put it that 
sad morning after the Autumn Ball, she came upon 
her blue taffeta evening gown. 

"I’ll just leave this behind,” she said to Miss Lee. 
"I’ll probably have no use for it.” 

"Indeed you will have use for it,” answered Miss 
Lee. "There will be some lovely affairs in Panama 
for which this will come in handy.” 

"Oh, but Miss Lee,” cried Natalie, the old mv 



When Dreams Come True 


169 


happy look coming again in her eyes, “I can't dance 
any more. Of course I've improved with my exer- 
cises, but I can't go to a party and dance in public!" 

“Let's decide about that later, dear," Miss Lee 
suggested. “But take the dress along, anyway, just 
to play safe. And isn't it a beauty!" she exclaimed, 
as she shook it out. “But oh, so wrinkled! We must 
have Lucinda press it right away, even if we are go- 
ing to pack it again." 

One afternoon, a few days later Lucinda, resplen- 
dent in her going-away clothes, came into the living 
room to bid the family good-bye. Her broad, black 
face beamed under a waving white ostrich plume atop 
her magenta hat. 

“When you-all come back from them heathen 
places, you just send for Cindy, Miss Natalie," she 
said. “I'll come back to cook for you if you be at the 
ends of the yearth." 

“Bless your heart, Cindy," Natalie answered. “It 
wouldn't be home without you no matter where we 
lived." 

“I’se glad to see you look so spry, Miss Natalie," 
Cindy said. “ 'Pears like you is some kind of tonic, 
Miss Lee, ma'am. 'Foh you come, this chile look all 
tuckered out." 

“Thank you, Lucinda," Miss Lee replied kindly. 
“I promise to bring her back all well and rosy again." 

“Good-bye, chile," Lucinda said, as the cab which 



170 


Natalie 


was to take her to the railway station pulled up at 
the door. “Doan let them alligators git you!” 

Natalie laughed. “I’ll be careful, Cindy dear. Good¬ 
bye.” 

Natalie went to the window and watched the huge 
woman clamber into the cab, settling herself regally 
on the back seat, with her multitudinous bundles 
spread around her. A great white handkerchief flut¬ 
tered for a moment at the window and then the cab 
drove away. 

A few hours later, Natalie and Miss Lee boarded 
a train for New York City. Daddy was to follow in 
a day or so, and they planned to have some jolly 
times together before they sailed. Apart from the 
shopping—“Think of buying summer clothes in the 
middle of January!” Natalie said—there was the all- 
important examination by Uncle Bill. 

“I am sure your doctor uncle will be able to sug¬ 
gest other ways to take the stiffness out of your 
muscles besides the exercises, Nats,” Miss Lee said. 
“Perhaps we can go back to the hospital for more 
bakings. We must limber you up so that you will 
be able to swim and golf with the energetic Hart 
family.” 

Natalie had dreaded meeting Uncle Bill, but she 
saw at once how foolish her attitude had been. He 
made a brief examination and told her that the X-ray 
showed that her spine had knit perfectly and that 



When Dreams Come True 


121 

nothing but her own laziness could prevent her from 
being as well and strong as before. 

“We will have Miss Lee massage you to get some 
of the kinks out of your muscles, and I want you to 
go on with the exercises you learned from Miss Ven 
drey until I tell you to stop. While you are in 
New York we can work in some electric bakings at 
the hospital. But mostly I prescribe plenty of out' 
door exercise and lots of fun. 

“I am not going to read you a lecture, my dear,” 
he went on in a more gentle tone. “It is a fine thing 
to be a good student and get such high marks at 
school. The world needs more serious students, but 
people should not be all student. That makes them 
lopsided. It is just as wrong for your health for you 
to spend all your time over books as it would be for 
your mind if you spent all your time at games. The 
most worthwhile people in the world have learned 
to strike a balance, and that is what you must try 
to do. 

“Now, my dear, there is nothing on earth the mat' 
ter with you but worry. And it's up to you to forget 
about that. I can’t think of a better way than by tak' 
ing this glorious trip and interesting yourself in every' 
thing you see and in the new people whom you will 
meet. And just remember, Nats, that not one soul 
you will meet on board ship nor anyone you will see 
in Panama will know anything about the trouble 



172 


Natalie 


following your accident unless you yourself tell them 
about it. To them you will seem just what you are— 
a mighty attractive young woman. Now don’t forget 
that.” 

In spite of the many things Natalie had to do dur' 
ing her brief visit, she made several trips to the hos' 
pital to lie under the great, health'giving lamps. The 
first time she went there she took Miss Lee with her 
to call on the Wardlets, but all the beds were filled 
with new little people. Not one of the Five Little 
Cheepers of her hospital days was there. 

“All discharged, cured,” said the head nurse in an' 
swer to Natalie’s question. “You see, you named the 
Ward correctly, Natalie.” 

“What did you call it, Nats?” Miss Lee asked. 

“Oh, didn’t Natalie tell you? She named it Ward 
Deliverance, and right she was.” 

New York held one great surprise for Natalie. 
Shortly after his arrival, Donald Harding, unknown 
to Natalie, suggested that Aunt Bess invite Richard 
Frost to dinner. Aunt Bess obligingly agreed, ah 
though she sighed at the prospect of entertaining that 
sloppy young man, as she always called him, in her 
immaculate apartment. 

“Be prepared for a shock, Sis,” Donald Harding 
warned his sister. 

At seven o’clock that night the door bell rang. 
“See who it is, will you please, Natalie?” Aunt Bess 



When Dreams Come True 


173 


asked, and Natalie went to the door. Standing there, 
hat in hand, was a tall, handsome and so perfectly 
groomed a young man that Natalie all but failed to 
recognize him. 

For a moment the memory of their last meeting 
swept over them and they stood in embarrassed si- 
lence not knowing what to say. After all, when you 
have told a young man that you hate him and never 
want to see him again as long as you live, it is a bit 
awkward to meet him on the doorstep of your aunt’s 
apartment and be expected to play the cordial hostess. 

It was Dick who recovered first. “Say, Nats,” he 
said with his well-remembered grin, “let’s forget it, 
shall we?” 

“Right,” said Natalie, eagerly. 

“Shake,” said Dick and held out his hand. So 
Natalie ushered him into the living room where the 
family was assembled, chuckling to herself as she saw 
the look of amazement on her aunt’s face as she noted 
Dick’s changed appearance. 

“Will wonders never be done ceasing,” murmured 
Uncle Bill. Natalie hoped Dick had not heard him 
but, after all, one could not blame Uncle Bill for his 
surprise. This was indeed a transformation! Natalie’s 
eyes wandered from the sleek, well-brushed hair, the 
well-tied cravat that matched the handkerchief peep¬ 
ing out of the pocket of the well-pressed suit, down 
to the shiny shoes. 



i74 


Natalie 


Dick made the rounds, greeting each member of 
the family with a polite bow and handshake, “Not 
bumping into a thing,” as Aunt Bess remarked after' 
wards. 

Daddy was watching the reactions of the family 
with a twinkle in his eye. This then was the shock 
about which he had warned his sister, and he thor¬ 
oughly enjoyed watching her. 

“Good evening, Beau Brummel,” he said, when 
Dick got around to him, and everybody laughed, 
Dick most of all. 

As Dick tood Natalie in to dinner she whispered, 
“You do look wonderful, Dick. You don’t mind my 
saying so, do you?” 

“Heavens no!” Dick responded. “Survey your 
handiwork, young woman. This vision of sartorial 
perfection you see before you is entirely due to you 
for your—er—shall we say ’kind words’? And if I 
may say so, Nats, you don’t look so dusty yourself— 
not so dusty!” 

“Speaking about those kind words,” said Natalie, 
“yours to me had some effect, too, though I had 
much farther to go. Perhaps you may notice a dif¬ 
ference.” 

“What on earth are you two kids talking about?” 
asked Daddy. 

“A true story we once heard, Daddy,” Natalie 
answered mysteriously. 



When Dreams Come True 


175 


“Yes,” put in Dick. “A couple of stories. And 
they were ‘plain and unvarnished’, eh, Nats?” 

As they seated themselves at the dinner table Nat¬ 
alie said, “It was wonderful getting all that money, 
Dick. And by the way, if I see anything particularly 
funny on the ship I’ll let you know about it. Maybe 
we could send Minnie Mis-hap on a cruise.” 

“Good girl,” said her father. “That sounds like a 
good idea to follow the Tourist Home series. Don’t 
you think so, Dick?” 

“It’s another bull’s eye or I’m a Chinaman!” said 
Dick, enthusiastically. “Here’s where you earn your 
trip and then some, Natalie. What would I do with¬ 
out the two of you?” he said, smiling gratefully at 
the Hardings. 

After a very jolly dinner, Uncle Bill said, “Look 
here, everybody, I think this reunion calls for a cele¬ 
bration. I propose a party in honor of the three cre¬ 
ators of Minnie Mis-hap!” 

“Good,” said Aunt Bess. “Just give us a chance to 
change our clothes, and then let’s go to the theatre.” 

Soon they were riding along the Drive in a shining 
car just like the people Natalie had so often watched 
from the window when first she came out of the hos¬ 
pital many months ago. She could hardly believe her 
senses. 

Uncle Bill never did things by halves. After the 
play they went atop a great skyscraper to look at the 



iy6 


Natalie 


world from the observation tower. When they 
stepped out on the balcony the sight that met her 
eyes fairly took Natalie's breath away. Lights 
gleamed and sparkled in every direction. “I can't tell 
where the stars end and the electric lights begin,” 
said Natalie, as Dick tried to point out and name one 
giant skyscraper after another. To the west of them 
was a line of lights from the Jersey coast, and to the 
east the patterns of the great bridges were pricked 
against the black sky. Far, far below, crawling along 
the bright streets were numberless automobiles look¬ 
ing from that great height like tiny black beetles stud¬ 
ded with jewels. Away off in the harbor the God¬ 
dess of Liberty held aloft her flaming torch shining 
over a darkened world. 

“It's one of the greatest sights in the world, I 
think,” said Aunt Bess, speaking from the back¬ 
ground of her European travel. 

“It's fairyland!” cried Natalie. 

“Twentieth Century variety,” added Daddy. 

“We'll go through that fairyland on foot before 
you take your boat, Nats,” said Dick. “It won't look 
so glamorous near at hand and in broad daylight 
perhaps, but I’m willing to bet you will find it just 
as interesting.” 

That night before she slept, Natalie thought how 
many things had happened in the two years she had 
just been through and of all the new people who had 




“It’s fairyland!” cried Natalie 




























When Dreams Come True 


179 


become so important to her because she and her 
father had had a bad accident! And she thought of 
the great change in Dick Frost, and of the opportu- 
nity for his development which had been the result 
of that accident. 

“It’s a funny world ,’ 1 she thought. "Why if Daddy 
and I had not been nearly killed I would never have 
known Miss Lee, or been going to Panama, or even 
have met Mr. Richard Frost! Heavens, wouldn’t that 
have been awful? Yet you can’t go around the world 
hoping to have accidents so you won’t miss knowing 
someone—oh, dear!” But she was much too sleepy 
to worry more over that problem. 

On the morning two days later, came the beginning 
of her great adventure. No thrill she had hitherto 
known could compare with that of walking up the 
gangplank of a great ship and knowing that she was 
to have six days in that strange world. 

This was indeed her dream come true, for now at 
last she and her dear Miss Lee were to sail the ocean 
blue together. 

The long, slender ship was gay with flags and pern 
nants and confetti. The band struck up, Should Auld 
Acquaintance Be Forgot . Natalie and Miss Lee stood 
at the bow of the ship waving good-bye to the little 
group on the pier—Daddy and the Rodgers and Dick, 
who had come to see them off. Soon the ship sailed 
out into the harbor, escorted by the busy, fussy little 



i8o 


Natalie 


tugs; past the Statue of Liberty which Natalie had 
seen from afar the night of the party, past other ships 
going and coming from all parts of the world. The 
great towers of Manhattan grew smaller and smaller, 
and at last disappeared altogether. 










Chapter XII 

FOR TO ADMIRE AND FOR TO SEE 
S.S. Virginia 

Somewhere in the Caribbean 
March Fifth 

My very dearest Daddy: 

Here I am basking in the warm sunshine, when 
you, poor darling, are probably freezing. I am the 
very happiest girl in the world. I told Miss Lee that 
I couldn’t stand it another minute until I had writ' 
ten to you. Of course I can’t mail the letter for a 
181 


182 


Natalie 


day or so. Perhaps I could persuade a seagull to put 
it in his beak and carry it to you. Do you suppose 
I could? 

There is so much to tell. Where shall I begin? 
Shall I start with telling you all about the wonderful 
things Miss Lee and I found in our stateroom? Yes, 
that’s a good place. Your package puzzled me with 
the note, “For to admire and for to see, for to behold 
this world so wide.” And then I opened it and there 
was my darling little candid camera! It will help me 
remember forever what I admire and see on this won' 
derful trip. But oh, Daddy, do you think you should 
have spent all that money? 

I asked Miss Lee if she knew where those lines 
came from, and she said she did. She’s a great one for 
poetry, that lady. Then she recited the rest of the 
poem and told me it was one of her favorites of all 
Kipling. 

But to go on with our presents. Aunt Bess sent 
me a lovely traveling case all fitted up with toilet 
articles, just like one I had wanted in the shop win' 
dow. Teddy Davis and his mother sent a basket of 
fruit. And there were even steamer letters from 
Ruth and Dorothy! Can you imagine that? I thought 
they had forgotten I existed! 

The funniest present of all came from Dick. How 
he ever persuaded the purser to let him put that huge 
thing in the cabin, I don’t know. It is an enormous. 



For to Admire and for to See 


183 


larger-than-life statue of Minnie Mis-hap, made of 
cardboard with arms of strands of wire so they can 
hold things. And it was hung all over with gifts 
like a Christmas tree. Some nice and some silly. 
Candy and nuts, a novel for Miss Lee, and sketching 
pads and crayons for me. Then a doll’s life preserver 
marked “Hope this won’t be needed”, a tiny hatchet 
labelled “For hacking your way through the Jungle”, 
a box of crackers marked “Hard tack in case of 
shipwreck”; and a corsage for each of us, made of a 
leek, a bunch of carrots and a bunch of spring onions, 
all done up in cellophane. Thank goodness, for they 
didn’t smell. Isn’t he a nut? I certainly can’t get over 
the way that boy has improved in appearance. He 
is kind of nice, don’t you think so? 

Miss Lee was awfully pleased with the copy of 
Masefield’s poems which you sent her. When I was 
first hurt and she came to be my nurse, she recited 
one of those poems to me—the one called Cargoes. 
Why, come to think of it, it was that very poem that 
made me want to come to Panama! And I’m almost 
there now. Dreams just do come true, I don’t care 
what people say. When Miss Lee unwrapped your 
present she said, “Do you know, Natalie, I think your 
Dad is one of the nicest people in the world.” She 
isn’t the only one! 

But I must tell you more about the trip. This is 
just about the first time I have sat down on my deck 



184 


Natalie 


chair since we came on board ship. I had no idea 
there were so many interesting things to do on a ship, 
especially one that sails through southern waters 
where it is warm enough to swim in the pool on deck. 
We have a dip every morning before breakfast and 
I usually go in again after lunch. The pool is too small 
to take more than a few strokes, so I don't know yet 
whether I can really swim or not. I just paddle 
around, but that is something. And speaking of 
lunch, the food is so good that we are afraid we are 
gaining weight. Wouldn't that be terrible? I can't 
boss the steward around about not tempting me with 
good food the way I could poor old Cindy! 

And—knock on wood—I haven't been seasick yet 
really, although I had a close call when it got choppy 
the first night out. 


Later— 

I stopped writing for awhile because somebody 
called out that there was a school of porpoises play¬ 
ing on our starboard side and we all rushed to the rail 
to see them. Aren't they crasy creatures, but what 
perfect cartwheels they can turn! 

Isn t it funny how quickly one makes friends on 
board ship and talks to everybody? I suppose it is 
because we are all thrown together for such a short 
space of time. We are so far away from the world, 
and nobody has to work and heaven knows we can't 



For to Admire and for to See 


185 


go anywhere! There are a lot of nice people on 
board and everyone looks especially nice now that 
they have put on their summer clothes. As soon as 
we got into the Gulf Stream the girls put on beach 
pajamas or shorts and the men white flannels. I was 
glad I had some new things to wear. And you ought 
to see the officers and stewards in their white ducks! 

People play a lot of shuffleboard on deck and deck 
tennis too. I guess I can't manage the tennis yet 
awhile, but I got up early one morning because I 
wanted to try some shuffleboard before anyone was 
around to watch me. All of a sudden I was conscious 
that someone was watching me. It was the boy who 
sits at our table, whose name is Ernest Chase. He 
and his father are going to California where Ernest 
is going to work on his uncle's ranch. Mr. Chase told 
Miss Lee that Ernest had been very sick and the doc- 
tors had advised an outdoor life. Mr. Chase is very 
nice and talkative at the table, but Ernest never has 
a word to say. He looks pale and thin and his father 
watches him with a kind, crinkly look in his eyes— 
just like another father I know. 

Well, Ernest and I were all alone on deck and we 
got to talking and he told me a lot about himself and 
what it was like to be banished, as he called it, from 
everything you care about just because you are sick. 
And what do you think he said to me? “Of course 
that is something you will never know about—a 



186 


Natalie 


husky looking girl like you!” Imagine me not know' 
ing what it is like to be sick! 

So you see, Daddy, they didn’t know about it. 
Maybe it doesn’t show after all. Somebody once said 
to me that nobody would know I was sick if I didn’t 
act sick. I was awfully mad at that person but I guess 
he was right. I asked Miss Lee why she hadn’t told 
the Chases about it and she said she guessed she had 
forgotten about it herself. 

Did you know we were going to stop at Havana? 
I don’t know how I happened not to know about it. 
It was a very pleasant surprise. And Daddy, what a 
treat! We were there seven hours. It was simply 
beautiful. We were awakened early in the morning 
by the gong that calls us to our meals. Miss Lee and 
I looked out of the porthole and saw a long line of 
twinkling lights shining like diamonds against the 
dark sea, for of course the sun wasn’t up yet and the 
moon was fading. We hustled up and got dressed 
and went out on deck and just as the sun rose the 
boat slid into the harbor, past Morro Castle and the 
Cabana fortress. It looked lovely. Morro Castle is 
really beautiful and it looks as if it has been standing 
there since the beginning of time. Miss Lee said it 
was built to protect the Spanish settlement from the 
raids of Sir Francis Drake. I knew Drake was an 
explorer but I had no idea he was a buccaneer as 
well. What a lot of history I am going to learn down 



For to Admire and for to See 


187 


here! You know, Daddy, if I weren’t so sure that I 
want to be an artist Fd like to major in history. 

We waited and waited for the Cuban official to let 
us disembark. Oh, I was impatient! With so many 
things to see and only seven hours in Havana, I 
couldn’t bear to waste any time waiting for an old 
customs officer! 

When we finally did get off we hired a big car— 
you should have heard the drivers calling us in the 
funniest pidgin English—with Mr. Chase and his son. 
Two sweet, fluttery old ladies who sit at our table 
also went with us, and we all divvied up on the ex¬ 
pense. Miss Lee was so anxious to have me see the 
beautiful cathedral in the Plaza de Armas. She told 
me that Columbus was buried there before his coffin 
was taken to Santo Domingo. I was never in such an 
ancient building before. It made me want to be very 
quiet. Do you understand what I mean? I can’t de- 
scribe it very well, but it was a sort of awesome feel¬ 
ing. It made me realize that the world had been go¬ 
ing on a long, long time before ever I was bom, and 
that it would go on a long time after—well, that 
sounds gloomy as I write it. But it doesn’t feel 
gloomy inside. 

We went through the quaintest little winding 
streets to get to the Cathedral, with beauiful old 
houses of soft colored stone and lots of flowers bloom¬ 
ing on the wrought-iron balconies. Dark-skinned 



i88 


Natalie 


women and children stared at us, and sometimes they 
called a greeting to us in Spanish. Of course we an¬ 
swered, though we had to speak in English. 

Then we drove all around. It was such a bright 
blue and gold day. Of course we did a little shop¬ 
ping. No one could help it. There were beautiful 
laces and shawls and perfumes but we bought only 
a few little knickknacks. 

Mr. Chase suggested that we have lunch at one of 
the sidewalk cafes. And we tried all sorts of strange 
and delicious foods. We all ended up with lovely 
ice-cold pineapple which they call pina fria. Miss 
Lee says the reason that it tastes so good is that it is 
ripened in the sun. 

While we were sitting at the table the funniest 
little home-made orchestra came and played for us. 
They were just little Cuban boys, five of them, play¬ 
ing on the queerest-looking instruments; it sounded 
lovely though a little strange. I made a sketch of 
them which I will send you. They wore white sailor 
suits. One boy shook two big gourds which Miss Lee 
says they call rumbas, and another beat time by hit¬ 
ting two mahogany sticks together. One boy sat on 
something that looked like an empty crate such as we 
see at grocery stores. It had a couple of strings 
stretched across it and he twanged them. The only 
real tune came from a guitar that another of them 
played. And of course they all sang. Each song 



For to Admire and for to See 


189 


seemed to have about a hundred verses and they sang 
every one of them clear through. 

As we sat there a big colored woman with a tray 
of pineapples on her head passed by calling her wares, 
in a voice that made me homesick for Cindy. And 
people passed between the tables with baskets of 
flowers for sale. Oh, what flowers we saw! Millions 
of them at every street comer. 

I hated to leave Havana. It is so beautiful and it 
seems so gay. But of course Fm crazy to go on to 
Panama. 

I must tell you about the trip we had through the 
ship. The Captain, who is a friend of Miss Lee’s 
brother, took us through, himself, after he learned 
from a radiogram that Pilot Peter Hart’s sister and a 
friend were on board. I didn’t have any idea how 
interesting it would be. Don’t you think that people 
take a lot of things for granted in this world which 
really would make the world more interesting if peo¬ 
ple would only trouble to think about them? 

First they showed us the Victualling Department. 
I didn’t know that outside of fairy tales the word 
victuals was ever used for food. Goodness, how clean 
and orderly everything is! And I just couldn’t be¬ 
lieve how much food it was necessary to have to feed 
a shipload of people. Of course this trip, for the boat 
I mean, will last sixteen days, going all the way to 
San Francisco. A lot of people will get off when we 



190 


Natalie 


do at Balboa, but more will get on there, so it will 
about balance. But anyway it seems like a lot to me. 

When I remember the size of the grocery orders 
that Cindy and I had, it just doesn't seem possible 
that anyone could have a grocery list as long as this 
one. Daddy, just try to think of fifty thousand eggs! 
Why I didn't know there were that many hens in 
the world. And ten thousand oysters! Miss Lee said 
that even the Walrus and the Carpenter couldn't eat 
that many! The chief cook showed us how the food 
is cooked on great electric ranges and said it was 
much easier to work nowadays when kitchens can be 
kept cool. He said it used to be that if you opened 
the window to get a breath of air the passengers 
would find cinders in their food. 

After we had seen how they cook and store the 
victuals, we went deep down into the depths of the 
ship to the engine room. My, what great smooth 
monsters those engines are! Yet the Captain can 
manage them all from the bridge of the ship. He 
and Miss Lee got to talking about how different trav¬ 
eling on the sea has become from the olden days so 
full of hardships and danger. He said it wasn't only 
easier for the sailors but much more comfortable for 
the passengers. "It is just like being in a big hotel 
on firm land," the Captain said. Of course I didn't 
like to contradict him, but I wanted to say that no¬ 
body ever got seasick on firm land! 



For to Admire and for to See 


I9i 

Tonight there is going to be a Masquerade Dance. 
At first, when I heard about it, I thought I wouldn’t 
go or that I would only sit and watch. But after 
what Ernest said to me I have decided to take a 
chance. So Miss Lee and I have fixed up a couple 
of Harlequin costumes. They will cover us up so 
well that I am sure that no one will recognize me, 
and if I do have bad luck dancing I can go to our 
stateroom before they all unmask. I told Miss Lee 
my plan and she seemed to think it a fine idea. 

Anyhow dancing can’t be as uncomfortable as 
sleeping on a board. I can’t see now how I ever did 
sleep on that board, Daddy. But more about tonight’s 
party. 

The deck steward is hanging up Chinese lanterns, 
and of course it will all look very gay and pretty and 
I am sure it will be lots of fun. But nothing he can 
do to the ship will ever look as beautiful to me as 
the tropical night. The stars are so big and bright 
and the moon so gorgeous. And did you know that 
the sea is phosphorescent? Each little wave has a 
rim of gold. And low in the horizon hangs the 
Southern Cross. Miss Lee says that someone has 
written of the Southern Cross as a “kite of golden 
worlds.” At first I didn’t understand exactly what 
that meant, but after awhile I saw it. Miss Lee said 
that when she was a child, every time she saw the 
Southern Cross in the sky she thought it must be 



192 


Natalie 


the diadem that the church hymn sings about. You 
know, the words “Bring forth the royal diadem .' 1 But 
now she thinks of it as a group of worlds, golden 
worlds, somewhere in the great universe outside our 
knowledge. 

Every time Miss Lee sees beautiful things, she 
wants to tell about it in words just as I do in pictures. 
But I don’t believe the artist ever lived, whether he 
used words or pictures, who could get all this beauty 
down on paper. 

Now I must stop. Tomorrow we go through the 
Big Ditch. To think that I am to see the Panama 
Canal! Pilot Peter Hart is to take our boat through 
the locks, and we are to watch the whole thing from 
the bridge of the ship. Isn’t that wonderful luck? 
And at the end of the trip we will all get off together 
at Balboa and I will begin my visit with the Hart 
family. I hope they will like me. Anyhow I will 
write you all about them. 

Well, this is the longest letter I ever wrote in my 
life, but I never had so many wonderful things to 
tell before. Good-bye for now, Daddy, and thanks 
a million for this marvelous trip. Miss Lee and I send 
oodles of love. 

Your own 

Nats 

P.S. Give my best love to Aunt Bess and Uncle 



For to Admire and for to See 


193 


Bill and remember me to Mr. Richard Beau Brummel 
Frost. Ha, ha! 

Double P.S. The Dance is over and it wasn’t very 
awful. Maybe I’m going to be all right, Daddy, after 
all. I stayed for the unmasking, anyway. N. 





Chapter XIII 

THROUGH THE BIG DITCH 

In spite of the masquerade party the night before, 
Natalie and Miss Lee were up bright and early next 
morning, for that was the day they were to go 
through the Big Ditch, as the workers at the Panama 
Canal called it. For Natalie the trip through the 
Canal was to be the climax of her exciting journey, 
but for Miss Lee it was a reunion with her elder 
brother of whom she was very fond. 

The moment Natalie saw Pilot Peter Hart she 


194 




Through the Big Ditch 


195 


knew she would like him. He had Miss Lee's clear 
blue-gray eyes, her friendly, straightforward manner. 
He shook hands briskly with Natalie, saying, c Tm 
glad we are to have a visit from you, Miss Natalie,” 
and he kissed his sister affectionately. Then, having 
obtained the Captain’s permission, he invited them 
to the bridge of the ship to watch the passage through 
the famous Canal. 

Natalie had expected a great deal, but she was 
quite unprepared for the spectacle which lay before 
her. As they steamed slowly out of the harbor of 
Cristobal toward the opening of the Canal, she looked 
down on the dense, green jungle. Birds of every 
color in the rainbow flew in and out of the foliage. 
Occasionally she heard, above the throbbing of the 
engines, the chattering of monkeys or the shrill 
screech of a macaw. 

“Away over there is Porto Bello,” said Miss Lee, 
pointing along the mountainous coast. “That’s where 
Columbus landed on his fourth trip. Do you realize 
that he was looking for this very passage that we 
are to make today?” 

“Yes,” said Natalie. “And Porto Bello is the place 
where the stately Spanish galleons of our poem sailed 
from, isn’t it?” 

Soon the wild, tangled jungle gave way to grassy 
hills where trim white buildings appeared under neat 



196 


Natalie 


red roofs. And there, straight ahead of them, rose 
the great concrete locks of the Canal. 

“Do we really climb up there ? 11 asked Natalie. 

Peter Hart laughed. “Yes, indeed! Just watch us. 
These are the Gatun Locks, and they are really three 
huge steps which we have to hurdle in order to get 
into Gatun Lake. The Lake is eighty-five feet higher 
than the Atlantic Ocean, you see . 11 

Natalie watched breathlessly. She saw great steel 
cables fastened from the boat to funny squat little 
electric engines. 

“All I do is steer , 11 Pilot Peter said. “Those little 
fellows do the work. They are called mules because 
they are such good beasts of burden, I suppose. You 
see, they pull the ships through the locks. The en- 
gines are shut off, didn't you notice ? 11 

So engrossed had Natalie been in the operating of 
the locks that she had not been aware that the throb- 
bing of the engines had ceased. 

“Every precaution is taken for safety , 11 explained 
Pilot Peter. “Do you see that great chain yonder? 
That is to hold back the ship in case of accident. 
Now look back and you will see that we are secure 
in this one lock . 11 So they were. Natalie watched 
the huge steel jaws close behind the ship. 

“Now watch the wall of the lock , 11 suggested Miss 
Lee. Natalie did so, and she saw, from the changing 
position of the ship in relation to the wall, that the 



Through the Big Ditch 


197 


ship was slowly rising. Water was pouring into the 
chamber from the open valves, swirling and boiling 
around the keel and carrying the ship upward as eas' 
ily as if it were a rubber ball bouncing on the waves. 

Now the busy little mules were below the level of 
the boat instead of above it. Then the gates swung 
open, the guard chain dropped out of sight, and the 
little mules crawled forward while the ship slipped 
into the second chamber. 

Twice this process was repeated, then the last gates 
were opened, the ship’s whistle blew a deep blast, 
the cables were hauled in from the mules, the engines 
began to throb and the great ship sailed out into 
Gatun Lake. 

Natalie was quivering with excitement. “What a 
wonderful, wonderful place this is!” she cried. 

“Right you are!” said Peter Hart. “You would 
think I’d be used to it by now, but it always seems 
like a miracle to me, just as the guide books call it. 
And it was Yankee engineers who did the trick, re' 
member, when other nations failed.” 

“And Yankee doctors,” said Miss Lee. “Don’t for' 
get that, Peter.” 

Peter Hart laughed. “Same old Lee,” he said, 
“Never forgets the doctors. But she is right, Miss 
Natalie. Jungle fever was killing off the white men 
who worked here until they found what was eating 
them. More truth than poetry in that, eh Lee? It 



198 


Natalie 


was the mosquito, you see, that was carrying the 
germ of yellow fever, and, until they got rid of him , 
they couldn’t get the job done. Now there is no 
more healthful place on the globe than the Canal 
Zone. You’ll see that I’m right.” 

Now they were steaming across a huge lake which 
Pilot Peter told her, with apologies for talking like 
a booster, was the largest artificial lake in the world. 

"This is Gatun Lake,” he explained, "made by 
damming up the Chagres River and drowning a 
whole forest. Look over there in the distance and 
you will see the tree trunks of that dead forest still 
standing.” 

The great naked trunks of the trees, some black¬ 
ened, some bleached white, many of strange, fantastic 
shapes, looked to Natalie like something in a night¬ 
mare. 

"It sounds silly, Miss Lee,” whispered Natalie, 
"but I feel as if I were swimming under water with 
my eyes open.” 

The ship steered through tiny floating islands cov¬ 
ered with dense masses of vegetation. Sometimes the 
warm breeze blew whiffs of fragrance up to them. 

"What smells so delicious?” Natalie asked. 

"On these islands there are lots of beautiful flow¬ 
ers growing. You can’t make them out very well 
with the naked eye. Here, take my binoculars and 
see what you can see.” 



Through the Big Ditch 


199 


“Orchids!” exclaimed Natalie, “by the millions!” 

“Yes,” laughed Miss Lee. “Orchids are as common 
here as dandelions up north.” 

“And when I think what they cost in New York 
florist shops Ive seen,” said Natalie. “Well!” 

“We will bring you close enough really to see 
these islands one of these days, Natalie,” Peter Hart 
promised. “Then you will have some eye openers. 
We will hire a cayuca which is a kind of a dugout the 
natives make, and paddle all through this water 
forest.” 

Natalie thought that would be very wonderful, 
although she was seeing a great deal of beauty with 
the aid of Peter Hart's powerful glasses. Birds of 
every description flew in and out of the tangled green 
foliage. Herons stalked stiffly about the islands, look- 
as if they were walking on stilts. Cormorants roosted 
high on the dead trees. The flashing wings of king¬ 
fishers, and finches and parakeets, made brilliant 
streaks of color as they darted about. 

Natalie was amused by the battalions of pelicans 
flying in perfect formation like convoys of army 
planes. 

“Did the planes learn that trick from the pelicans 
or the pelicans from the planes?” she asked, but be¬ 
fore anyone could answer, she shouted, “Oh, look! 
Look at that alligator. Fll have to write Cindy that 
I actually saw one!” Sure enough, there on one of 



200 


Natalie 


the floating logs, sunning himself luxuriously, was a 
great scaly alligator. 

As the ship steamed along, Natalie occasionally 
caught sight of the railway running close beside this 
part of the Canal. 

“Of course my brother Peter won’t admit it, Nat- 
alie,” said Miss Lee. “But the Panama Railroad is 
another feat of engineering that deserves to rank close 
beside the Canal. What frightful hardships were en- 
dured to put that job through! This beautiful jungle 
that appeals to your artistic eyes, is a hard, cruel 
place when you are trying to hack your way through 
it.” 

“Now who is talking like a guide book?” chided 
Peter. 

“7 was thinking of something even farther back,” 
Natalie said. “So maybe I am talking like a history 
book. I was wondering whether this route we are 
taking was the one the gold seekers took long ago, 
before the Americans did the trick as you said?” 

“Some of it is,” answered Peter. “This very lake, 
part of which was once the bed of the Chagres 
River, was used first by the Spaniards and then by 
the buccaneers. Even our own gold seekers, the feh 
lows that joined the gold rush to California in ’49, 
went part of the way in canoes along this very trail. 
We have it easy now compared to those days. 

“By the way,” he went on in a lighter tone, “as 



Through the Big Ditch 


201 


we pass the town of Gamboa where the Chagres 
River runs inland, watch for a surprise. Look sharp 
through those glasses, Natalie, and see if you can 
spy a strangedooking boat there in the inlet. It's 
Young Peter come to greet you. He's been working 
on the hyacinth patrol, and he said if possible, he 
would maneuver the boat down in time to watch us 
pass." 

“The hyacinth patrol?" repeated Natalie. “What 
on earth is that?" 

“It's part of the lake patrol," explained Pilot Hart. 
“Their job is to get rid of the water hyacinths, one 
of the worst pests we have to encounter. They fairly 
choke the rivers and make navigation almost iim 
possible." 

“Why, I know water hyacinths," said Natalie. 
“They are pretty purple flowers and they smell so 
sweet. We have often bought them at home." 

“Well," answered Peter Hart, “don't tell that to 
Young Peter. He belongs to one of the large crews 
whose job it is to exterminate them." 

“Doesn't he go to school?" asked Natalie. 

“He has finished high school and is trying to earn 
enough money to go to the States to college. He 
just has to go up north, that boy. He takes after his 
Aunt Lee in that respect," he finished, smiling at 
his sister. 

“Won't he be free to play with Natalie and me?" 



202 


Natalie 


asked Miss Lee. “I have been hoping we would have 
him for our guide. 11 

“Yes, his shift will be over the end of this week 
and then he will stay at home for awhile, 11 answered 
Peter. 

“Look! 11 said Natalie who was making the most 
of the binoculars. “It looks as if someone was going 
crazy in that funny-looking houseboat down there. 11 

“That’s he, 11 said Peter Hart, proudly. “That’s 
Young Pete.” 

With the aid of the glasses Natalie got a very good 
look at the young man. He was standing on the top 
of a queer-looking barge which closely resembled a 
houseboat in shape and size. Young Peter was tall 
and slender and he looked very nice, Natalie decided, 
something like an older, taller Teddy Davis. He wore 
shorts and a sleeveless shirt and his face and arms 
were burned brown under his thatch of blond hair. 
Natalie, who was feeling the burning tropical wind 
through her thin sleeves, wondered how he stood the 
wind and sun. Apparently he was wigwagging them 
a greeting. They all waved to Pete, whose exhibition 
of wigwagging doubled in fervor when he saw them. 

“What do they do with the water hyacinths, Mr. 
Hart?” asked Natalie who was thinking to herself 
that it would be fun knowing Young Pete. 

“Rake them all together and spray them with 
chemicals to destroy them,” answered Peter Hart. 



Through the Big Ditch 


203 


“But look here, Natalie, why don't you call me some' 
thing less formal? I notice you call my sister Miss 
Lee. As a starter how about calling me Mr. Pete so 
as to distinguish me from Young Pete, you know?" 

“Okay, Mr. Pete," answered Natalie gaily. 

“Now we are coming to the Galliard Cut," ex' 
plained Mr. Peter as the waterway grew narrower. 
The ship was moving very slowly. On either side of 
them the banks rose higher and higher. 

“This used to be a mountain," said Peter Hart, as 
casually as if he were commenting on the state of 
the weather. “But we cut it down to let the ships 
go through. Here we are passing through the Con' 
tinental Divide, the great backbone of the continent 
of North America." 

“Just think of the imagination and daring it took 
to cut through that, Nats," exclaimed Miss Lee. “It 
all looks so much better now, Peter. You know when 
I went up north, years ago, there were great scars 
on the sides of the mountains showing where they 
had been cut by the steam shovels. But now the 
scars are all healed." 

“I think it’s a wonderful place," cried Natalie. 

“Like it?" asked Peter Hart. 

“I love it," said Natalie. “And it is such a strange 
mixture. The Canal is so neat and spick'and'span 
and the Jungle is so beautiful and wild." 

“We will show you some real jungle before we let 



204 


Natalie 


you go north again,” he promised. “In fact, this 
very trip across the Isthmus you can make several 
ways. It’s worth while seeing it from the railway. 
No doubt you will do that one day, and Fm sure 
Young Peter will want to take you both in the 
Fallen Arch” 

“The what?” asked Miss Lee and Natalie in one 
breath. 

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Young Pete has an auto¬ 
mobile of as many breeds as a mongrel pup, which 
he has named the Fallen Arch . And, if I may say so, 
it is a very accurate name. It looks like all get out, 
but the boy surely covers a lot of territory in it.” 

“Now then,” said Mr. Peter, after a long while, 
“here we are at the Pedro Miguel Locks. This time 
we will be lowered instead of lifted into the Mira- 
flores Lake. When we reach the Miraflores Locks 
we will be lowered two steps more, and from there 
you will see the Pacific Ocean, the same one that 
Balboa saw under slightly different circumstances.” 

Natalie watched the maneuvering of the boat 
through these locks with as keen an interest as before. 

“Here we are,” said Pilot Hart at last, “and there 
is the Pacific!” Stretching ahead of them, bright blue 
under the tropical sky, gleamed the great ocean. 

“No wonder Balboa prayed when he first saw it!” 
exclaimed Natalie. 

“Safe home,” said Peter Hart as he nosed the ship 



Through the Big Ditch 


205 


into the harbor. “The Land divided, the World 
united. You've crossed a continent, young lady. What 
do you think of that?” 

“Already?” asked Natalie in surprise. “Oh, it was 
wonderful! I want to do it all over again!” 

“See,” said Miss Lee, “there's the city of Balboa 
in the distance where our family lives.” 

Natalie looked across the harbor to the Ancon Hill 
beneath which the city of Balboa lay, looking very 
gay in the sunlight, with gleaming red roofs and 
white houses. This then was to be her home for the 
next two months. She felt as if all sorts of wonderful 
things were in store for her. 

“My, how shiny it looks!” she exclaimed. 

“They call it Spotless Town,” laughed Peter Hart. 
“It was all cleaned up by Lee's friends, the doctors, 
years ago.” 

Soon they were landing at the dock. Pilot Hart 
turned the wheel over to the ship's Captain. Natalie 
and Miss Lee gathered together their baggage and, 
saying farewell to their friends of shipboard days, 
walked down the gangplank. 

The first lap of the great adventure was over. 



Chapter XIV 

THE THREE'RINGED CIRCUS 
“'We re all here but Young Peter,” said a musical 
voice that sounded as if its owner had never been 
outside the state of North Carolina. 

“Oh, Constance,” cried Miss Lee. “How nice of 
you all to come to the dock to meet us! We saw 
Young Pete from afar some time ago.” She hugged 
her sisterdndaw, and, turning to the young Harts, 
called, “Hello, everybody. Here we are! Natalie, 
this is your hostess, Mrs. Hart, and most of the young 
Harts come down to welcome us.” 


206 







The T hree-Ringed Circus 


20J 


“What a jolly looking family,” thought Natalie, 
as she looked them over curiously, “and no wonder 
Miss Lee calls them stair steps.” 

“We are very glad to have you come to visit us, 
Miss Natalie,” said Mrs. Hart, cordially. 

“It is good of you to let me, Mrs. Hart,” Natalie 
replied, in her best company voice. 

Mr. Hart watched this polite interchange with a 
quizzical expression on his bronzed face. “Jiminy 
crickets,” he cried, “but you are a formal pair! Why 
bless my soul, you'll give me a stiff neck. Will I 
have to wear my dress suit for breakfast? Come off 
it, you two. I've told Nats she is to call me Mr. Pete. 
Why not have her call you Mrs. Connie, so we'll all 
feel more natural?” 

“Very well, Nats, that will be splendid,” answered 
Mrs. Constance, smiling at Natalie. “But here, you 
must meet some of the younger members of the farm 
ily. I can see you have become pretty well acquainted 
with their father! This is Leonora, named for your 
Miss Lee.” 

Natalie looked up into the blue eyes of a tall, slen¬ 
der girl, three years her senior. Her oval face was 
framed with soft brown hair. Although her greeting 
to Natalie was friendly, she looked worried and un¬ 
happy about something. Natalie wondered why this 
was when the rest of the family seemed in such high 
spirits. But she had no time to give much thought 



208 


Natalie 


to the matter, for Mrs. Constance was presenting the 
other children. 

“Young Pete comes next, but as he is away, we will 
have to pass on to Constance, my namesake, or Young 
Connie as we all call her. Say hello to Natalie, dar¬ 
ling. 1 ’ Young Connie was a fat, jolly little girl of 
eleven, who smiled gaily at Natalie and said, “We’re 
going to show you all over Panama like a tourist.” 

Mr. Peter laughed. “No we aren’t! Natalie is go¬ 
ing to see Panama, not act like a tourist. Where ever 
did you get that notion?” 

“Well, Young Pete said we were, Daddy,” Connie 
protested. “He said we would tell her some tall tales 
to take back north.” 

“The rascal!” said Mr. Peter. “You watch out for 
that fellow, Nats, and don’t swallow all he tells you.” 

Next came Sally-Lou, the prettiest little girl Nat¬ 
alie had ever seen. “Here’s Shirley Temple,” cried 
Mr. Peter, trying hard to repress his fatherly pride in 
this beautiful child of his. 

“No it isn’t, Cousin Natalie,” lisped this delectable 
little creature. “It’s Sally-Lou!” 

Natalie could still remember from the long ago 
days of her own childhood how she had hated having 
strangers gush over her. But she could not resist this 
beautiful child. 

“It’s no wonder your father calls you Shirley Tem¬ 
ple,” she cried, stooping down to embrace the child. 



The T hree-Ringed Circus 


209 


Sally'Lou seemed quite accustomed to such treat' 
ment. “Do you want to kiss me?" she asked. 

“You little monkey!" said Miss Lee. “That's 
enough from you. Where's Jack?" 

“That's the question," said Mrs. Connie. “Where's 
Jack? I wonder how many times a day I ask that?" 

The whole family laughed uproariously at this. 
Apparently it was a family joke. They separated 
instinctively to begin the search. 

“You two girls stay here and mind your baggage," 
said Peter Hart to Natalie and Miss Lee. “I'm sorry, 
but you might as well get used to the fact, first as 
last, that the Hart family spends most of its time 
looking for Jack. It's a steady job for everyone in 
our household." 

“Constance, you take the dock and Leonora the 
streets. Young Constance and I will take the boat. 
And, Sally'Lou, you stay on guard here and watch 
for Jackie. Remember he has never seen Natalie and 
won't remember Auntie Lee, because he was minus 
two when he last saw her." 

“All right, Daddy, but hurry up quick," said Sally' 
Lou. “Lunch was ready before we left, you know, 
and I'm hungry." 

“All right, beautiful," he answered. 

“Jackie always gets lost," Sally'Lou informed 
Natalie, gravely, “but he doesn't stay lost." 

So engrossed had Natalie been in meeting the 



210 


Natalie 


Hart family that she had paid little attention to the 
docks, swarming with strange people from all over 
the world. Now she looked about her eagerly. 

“What a lot is going on here in spite of the heat!” 
she said. 

“It’s the harbor of our poem, Nats,” Miss Lee an- 
swered, her eyes shining with joy at being home 
again. “See those crates and bags piled on the docks? 
No doubt they are filled with some of the things we 
read about, though probably nothing so romantic as 
gold moidores.” 

“Well, some of them are filled with coffee,” said 
Natalie. “My nose knows that.” 

Sally-Lou was listening solemnly to this conversa- 
tion. 

“Don’t you have coffee at the North Pole?” she 
asked. 

“Goosie,” answered Miss Lee, “Natalie and I have 
never been to the North Pole. Where did you get 
such an idea?” 

“That’s what Jackie said,” she answered. 

Just then a long clear whistle cut sharply through 
the clamor of the dock. 

“That’s the I-Spy whistle!” cried Sally-Lou. 

“What’s that?” Natalie asked. 

“It means that Daddy has spied Jackie. Little ras¬ 
cal,” she went on in an excellent imitation of her 



The Three-Ringed Circus 


211 


mother’s voice, “I wonder what he has been up to 
this time?” 

Down the gangplank came Pilot Peter with a roly- 
poly little boy on his back. 

"Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, imitating a mas¬ 
ter of ceremonies, "we have with us today Christo¬ 
pher Columbus Balboa Lindbergh Byrd Jackie Hart, 
the greatest explorer of this or any age. And as a 
story teller not even Ananias himself could touch 
him!” 

Miss Lee and Natalie laughed, but Sally-Lou said, 
very solemnly, "You shouldn’t tell them stories, 
Daddy, just because they are strangers and don’t 
know any better. This boy isn’t who Daddy said at 
all, Auntie Lee. It’s Jackie and he is only four and 
a half and I’m six!” 

Miss Lee held out her arms and the sturdy little 
boy went into them, giving her a hug and a welcom¬ 
ing smile. 

"Do you remember me, Jackie?” Miss Lee asked. 

"Yes. And you, too,” he said and turned his bright 
smile on Natalie. 

"Come, come, you Blarney Stone!” cried Peter 
Hart. "You have never laid eyes on one of these 
ladies before in your life, and you couldn’t possibly 
remember the other one.” 

"Yes, I do, Daddy,” the little boy said positively. 
"I saw them in New York.” 



212 


Natalie 


“Has Jackie ever been to New York? 11 asked 
Natalie, wonderingly. 

“He's been to the moon to hear him tell it, 11 said 
Mrs. Constance, who, with Leonora, had joined 
them by that time. 

At that they all laughed but Jackie, who ga:z;ed 
solemnly at one after another. “Why, of course IVe 
been to the moon, 11 he said. “Peter drove me there 
Saturday in his car. 11 

“Too bad Peter isn’t here to drive us home to 
lunch,” said Mr. Pete. “As it is, well dispose our- 
selves in a couple of taxis. 11 

“Oh, no, Father, 11 said Mrs. Constance. “Natalie 
must have her first ride in Panama in a carimetta .” 

“Right-o,” he responded. “You all can have the 
local color and the kids and I will have the modem 
efficiency. 11 

Mrs. Constance signaled to a sleepylooking old 
colored man who was seated on the curb beside a 
rather ricketylooking carriage. He climbed upon 
the driver’s seat with alacrity and, clucking to his 
horse, pulled up before his customers with a flourish. 

“Why, it looks like the old-fashioned victorias 
they have in Central Park,” said Natalie. “I always 
wanted to take one, but everything in New York is 
in such a hurry we never seemed to have time. This 
is fine,” she said, settling herself. “With no top I 
can see everything!” 




The carimetta jogged along a beautiful avenue 














































The Three-Ringed Circus 


215 


"We are lucky to find one here," said Miss Lee. 

"Mother arranged to have this one come 'special' 
ly," explained Leonora. "They don't usually come 
into the Zone area, although we always take them 
to get about in Panama City." 

Natalie smiled her appreciation. The horse was 
jogging along when they suddenly drew up sharp 
at a crossing. The driver spoke loudly to the pedes' 
trians who were in his way, and rang a little bell to 
urge them to move on. 

"How funny," said Natalie. "He rings a bell just 
the way a motorist toots a horn." 

"You will get used to those," answered Mrs. Con' 
stance. "Everything that roams the streets, even 
some pedestrians, has a bell in Panama." 

The carimetta jogged along a beautiful avenue lined 
with banyan trees. Flowers and shrubs were grow' 
ing everywhere in parkdike grounds on either side 
of the drive. But what impressed Natalie most was 
the neatness and cleanness of everything. 

"It's so tidy!" she exclaimed. "It's as if everything 
had just been swept and washed and scrubbed." 

"Now you know why they call it Spotless Town," 
said Miss Lee. 

"I think Natalie should put up the sunshade. 
Mother," said Leonora thoughtfully. "This might 
be too much exposure, just at first." 

"That’s right, Nats," said Miss Lee. "Go slow!" 



216 


Natalie 


“Now where have I heard that before?” asked 
Natalie, with a giggle, as she obediently raised the 
sunshade. 

“This is the first time in my life I have ever put up 
an umbrella except to keep off the rain,” she went 
on. “It seems very queer.” 

“You'll be needing it for rain, too,” said Leonora. 
“We have a shower regularly every afternoon, this 
season of the year.” 

“Isn't that obliging of the rain not to take you 
unawares?” Natalie chuckled. 

They began to climb a hill through streets of 
feathery palm trees. Row upon row of trim little 
houses, each surrounded by large screened porches, 
were all about them. Bougainvillaea vines with huge 
reddish-purple flowers grew over many of the 
porches, and the gardens surrounding the porches 
were aflame with hibiscus and oleander. The lawns 
of these pretty little homes were as neat and well 
cared for as the public parks through which they had 
been driving. 

“Many of the people who are connected with the 
Canal live here,” explained Mrs. Constance, “and 
practically everyone in this neighborhood is em- 
ployed by the United States Government in some 
capacity or other.” Natalie had been noticing the 
spruce-looking officers going about the streets, look¬ 
ing very attractive in their white uniforms. 



The Three-Ringed Circus 


217 


The driver pulled up in front of one of the little 
houses. “Here we are,” said Mrs. Constance. “Wel¬ 
come homer 

At first glance Natalie wondered how such a large 
family could possibly squeeze into so small a house, 
but as Mrs. Constance showed her around she saw 
how it was managed. In the back were two large 
wings, the boys’ wing and the girls’ wing, Mrs. Con¬ 
stance called them. 

“We all sleep on the porches,” she said, “and use 
these little cubbyholes for dressing rooms. This will 
be the room you will share with Sister Lee,” indi¬ 
cating a very tiny but gay little room. “And you 
two, with Leonora and the two little girls, will sleep 
on this porch. I hope it doesn’t seem too much like 
a dormitory to you.” 

“Oh, I think it’s lovely,” said Natalie. She was 
all eyes to observe everything in this strange new life. 
Somehow the place reminded her of the cabin at the 
camp which she and Daddy had decorated. Chintz 
curtains of a gay pattern hung at the windows. The 
furniture was wicker and easily moved about. “Per¬ 
haps it is because it feels like summer,” Natalie 
thought to herself. “How different life must be when 
you can be out-of-doors all year long.” She was 
finding it difficult to regard this house as the all-year 
home of a large family. It seemed different, indeed, 
from Harding Hall, which was so solid and secure. 



2 l8 


Natalie 


"When you have tidied up a bit, come into lunch, 
said Mrs. Constance, after she had shown her guests 
their new quarters. 

"And hurry up about it,” begged Mr. Peter, who 
had come in with their luggage. "Woman,” he said, 
eyeing his wife severely, "if you don’t feed us pretty 
soon, I’m going to report you to the Governor for 
cruelty to children and dumb animals.” 

But Mr. Peter had to wait even longer for his 
lunch, for, as they sat down at the table, there was 
one place missing. 

"Where’s Jack?” asked Mrs. Constance. 

"Didn’t he come with you?” asked Mr. Peter. 

"No, I thought he was with you.” 

"Dear, dear, what shall we do with that child!” 
said SallyTou with her usual mimicry of her moth' 
er’s inflection. 

"Well, my dears,” said Mr. Peter in a tone of 
resignation, "you all enjoy your lunch and I’ll go 
and fetch him. It’s a sure thing that he is back at the 
dock watching the ship. He’s a great hand for boats 
of all descriptions, that boy.” 

"Like his father before him,” said Miss Lee. "Poor 
Peter, how I wish I could go for you! Hurry back!” 

Mr. Peter returned in a surprisingly short time 
with a smiling Jackie in his arms. The little boy 
seemed quite oblivious to the fact that he had upset 
his father’s lunch time or caused anyone the slightest 



The T hree-Ringed Circus 


219 


anxiety. Mr. Peter reported that he had found 
Jackie sitting on a bale of cochineal bark surrounded 
by a group of young Panamanians. He was telling 
them a story of his aunt and cousin who had arrived 
from the North Pole dressed in bear skins and driv' 
ing sleighs hitched to reindeer. 

"Did they believe him, Daddy?” young Connie 
wanted to know. 

"Only the ones younger than eleven,” answered 
her father, whereupon little Connie preened. 

"Jackie and Sally'Lou insist on calling you our 
cousin, Natalie,” explained Leonora. "I suppose be- 
cause you came with our aunt.” 

"I wish I were your cousin,” said Natalie. 

"So do I!” chimed in young Connie. 

"Why don't you be?” asked Sally'Lou. "Why 
don't you be our cousin?” 

"She can't be,” said Young Connie, with all the 
superior wisdom of her eleven years, "unless her 
father marries our aunt.” 

Everyone laughed as if that were a great joke. 
Everyone, that is, but Miss Lee. When Natalie 
looked at her, she was surprised to see that Miss 
Lee's face was quite flushed. 

After lunch had been cleared away, the family lay 
down for their siesta. Natalie learned that it was the 
custom at the Isthmus to which most Americans ad' 
hered. 



220 


Natalie 


“It is well to stay out of the heat of the sun in the 
middle of the day,” Miss Lee told her, “especially 
for people with white skins. The Indians and the 
colored folk don’t mind it, and some white people 
who have to work in the noonday heat can get used 
to it, but it is inclined to make one listless. You’ll 
like the custom, for it makes for a lovely long even¬ 
ing.” 

“The heat certainly hasn’t suppressed the pep in 
the Hart family,” said Natalie. “I hope I can keep 
up with them. They surely are a three-ringed circus, 
all right!” 

“As the boys say, ’you ain’t seen nothing yet.’ 
Just wait until Young Pete comes home.” 

“I can well believe it from the sample I saw,” said 
Natalie with a laugh. “You know. Miss Lee,” she 
went on, “this siesta time when the house is quiet 
and there is nothing else to do anyway, would be a 
fine time for me to study the history course that I 
have to make up.” 

“Good idea,” said Miss Lee. “We’ll study it to¬ 
gether and hear each other in our lessons.” 

Next evening, when Natalie and Leonora were re¬ 
turning from a walk, the most disreputable-looking 
car Natalie had ever seen drew up before the house, 
and the tall, blond boy who had waved at them from 
the boat of the hyacinth patrol climbed out. 

“Hi, Pete,” called Leonora. “Don’t tell me the 



The Three-Ringed Circus 


221 


Fallen Arch has made it again without collapsing! 
Come here and meet our guest from the north.” 

Young Peter Hart looked as nice on closer scrutiny 
as he had through the glasses. He gripped Natalie’s 
hand in friendly fashion. “Natalie and I have already 
met long distance,” he said, showing even white teeth 
in his wide grin. 

At the sound of Peter’s voice all the small Harts 
ran out of the house. Apparently big brother Peter 
was the favorite of the family. 

That night the Hart family was jolly indeed. 
Young Peter told many stories of his adventures. 
Natalie was sometimes at a loss to know where 
truth was severed from fancy. Peter could not resist 
telling some extravagant tales to this greenhorn from 
the north, as Connie had prophesied. Even she, a 
most credulous young person, was better at detecting 
fact from fiction than Natalie. 

Peter Senior was highly amused at his son’s non" 
sense, but his mother protested after Natalie had 
listened, wide-eyed, to a fantastic tale of a parrot 
which had hypnotized a half dozen monkeys. 

“See here, Peter,” she protested, “that is pure 
plagiarism. Rudyard Kipling told a better story than 
that only he made it a cobra and not a parrot that 
did the hypnotizing.” 

“I thought that story had a vaguely familiar ring,” 
said Natalie. “I’ll watch my step when I listen to 



222 


"Natalie 


your wild tales in the future. You’re as bad as Jackie!” 

“Well, here’s a riddle for you then,” said Pete. 
“You entered the Canal from the Atlantic side, 
didn’t you, and traveled through it to the Pacific side. 
Right?” 

“Right,” Natalie agreed. 

“Then, when you got to the Pacific side, were you 
east or west of the point where you started?” 

“West, of course,” Natalie answered promptly. 

“Why?” asked Pete. 

“Because the Pacific Ocean is west of the Atlantic. 
Everybody knows that!” 

“Wrong again!” said Peter, laughing. 

Natalie looked thoroughly confused. “He isn’t 
teasing you this time, Nats,” said Mr. Pete. “We 
really are twenty-seven miles farther east at this point 
than you were when you entered the Canal. See 
here,” he went on, pointing to the map on the wall. 
“Everybody from up north assumes that the Canal 
runs east and west, when actually it runs almost north 
and south.” 

“Well, I’ll have to take your word for it,” Natalie 
answered reluctantly. “And this probably explains 
why I have felt turned around ever since I got here.” 

Almost as strange to Natalie as the country itself 
was this large noisy household. She had never lived 
in a large family before. 

“It’s more like Ward D than anything I’ve ever 



The Three-Ringed Circus 


223 


experienced,” she told Miss Lee. “Living with a lot 
of people all at once, I mean. But here they are all 
well and happy—and more interesting than I ever 
thought just one family could be.” 

“Do you find all of them happy, Natalie?” asked 
Miss Lee, who was worrying about her namesake. 

“All but Leonora,” answered Natalie, gravely. 
“Something seems to be troubling her. I guess per' 
haps I recognize the symptoms.” 

“Perhaps she will tell you what’s the matter after 
you and she get to know one another better,” said 
Miss Lee. “Then maybe you and I can help her.” 

“She should tell you her troubles,” said Natalie. 
“You are the best person in the world for that, but 
I’d love to help her if I could. It would be a way 
of paying you back for all you’ve done for me.” 

“Silly girl!” said Miss Lee. “What are you talking 
about? I don’t need you to pay me back. What an 
idea! You pay me, as you call it, with your love. 
That is all the payment I want.” 

Natalie put her head against Miss Lee’s shoulder 
and sat quietly for a few minutes, thinking how much 
she and Miss Lee had gone through together. Sud' 
denly a thought made her chuckle. 

“Wasn’t that funny, Miss Lee, what Connie said 
that first day?” she asked. 

“What, dear?” Miss Lee tried to look innocent. 

“About how I couldn’t be her cousin unless you 



224 


Natalie 


married my father. Oh, wouldn't that be wonder- 
ful?" 

“Do you really mean that, Natalie?" asked Miss 
Lee in a very small voice. 

“Mean it? I should rather say I do! Why, that 
would be the most wonderful thing in the world. 
Would you, Miss Lee?" 

There was no answer, but Natalie felt Miss Lee's 
arm tighten around her. She said nothing more, nor 
did she ever mention Connie's remark again. But 
next day, when Natalie wrote her father, she drew a 
picture of the Hart luncheon table. There sat Con¬ 
nie, plump and smiling, and out of her mouth, car¬ 
toon fashion, came the remark about how to get 
Natalie for a cousin. Natalie made no other com¬ 
ment, but she had drawn the picture in colored 
crayons and had made Miss Lee with a very red face. 






Chapter XV 

GOLDEN DAYS IN PANAMA 
Life was certainly full and exciting these days for 
Natalie. Here was a whole new family with whom 
to get acquainted and a whole new country to ex' 
plore. A change indeed from the last few months 
at Harding Hall, and how it was agreeing with her! 
She and Miss Lee faithfully spent time each day on 
the massage and exercises prescribed by Uncle Bill, 
and she felt her muscles growing more limber day by 
day. One of these days, she determined, she would 
venture a set of tennis before going for her daily 
225 





226 


Natalie 


plunge in the swimming pool in the grounds of the 
big hotel, which was just a comfortable walk from 
the Hart home. 

Natalie was never too tired to walk down to the 
port with Miss Lee and watch the ships come 
through. Sometimes she and Leonora, with whom 
she had become great friends, wandered through the 
crooked streets of Panama City, visiting the shops 
filled with exotic goods from all over the world; lis¬ 
tening to the foreign speech and savoring the for¬ 
eign ways of the natives. 

But sometimes, in the midst of their light-hearted 
chatter, Leonora would grow silent and preoccupied. 
Then all the sparkle would leave her charming face 
and her eyes would have a distant, far-away look. 
Try as she would, Natalie could never penetrate the 
older girl’s reserve. She did so want to gain her 
confidence, to help in any way she could. For no 
one could have been kinder and more understanding 
of Natalie than Leonora had been, helping her with 
the first difficult adjustments to a large and noisy 
family, encouraging her in every way. So like Miss 
Lee, Natalie thought, in manner as well as name. 

Once when Leonora seemed particularly sad, Nat¬ 
alie ventured to ask what was troubling her. 

“You’ve suffered enough, Nats,” Leonora had 
answered. “It isn’t fair to dump my troubles on you. 
Besides, it really isn’t anything—just my own fool- 



Golden Days in Panama 


227 

ishness. Fm ashamed that I let you see that Fm 
blue.” And she would say no more. 

After that Leonora made a valiant effort to be 
gay and to join in Natalie's enthusiasm for all the 
strange new sights that so delighted her. 

Whatever the excursion, Natalie always returned 
with many snapshots or sketches to add to her even 
growing collection. Her scrap book labeled For to 
Admire and For to See was to be her gift to Daddy 
upon her return to New York. She could think 
of no better way to share this wonderful trip with 
him. 

Most of all she enjoyed the excursions exploring 
the nearby jungle, either on foot or in the disreputa- 
ble Fallen Arch which was as Young Pete said, a 
seaworthy craft in spite of its appearance. The gor¬ 
geous jungle vegetation never failed to fascinate her. 
She wanted so much to try to put on paper its mys¬ 
tery and weird beauty, but although she bought 
water colors and tried hard, she was never satisfied 
with the results. 

One day Pete took Natalie and Miss Lee on a trip 
to see Old Panama. The three tried to invest the 
ruins they were seeing with the feeling of romance 
which they felt should be there. But it was hard to 
find in these skeleton-like ruins any of the glamor of 
the days of old. Could these crumbling stones ever 
have been a treasure house for the fabulous riches 



228 


Natalie 


which the Spaniards had wrested from the Indians, 
who had in turn lost to Morgan's band of ruffians 
when they sacked the city? 

Pete knew the locality well. Here, he said, was 
the bridge over which Morgan had led his men to 
sack the city. There was the old church, now little 
more than a memento of a long-dead city. Through 
tangled weeds and bushes they came to view the 
ancient treasury. Once, the gold and silver and prec¬ 
ious stones looted from the Indians, had been stored 
here; then loaded on mule trains to cross the Gold 
Road to the ships waiting at Porto Bello to sail to 
far-away Spain. But now these empty cells were over¬ 
grown by the jungle, sending forth its great vines 
relentlessly to reclaim that land which man had 
wrested from her. 

“What a story these walls could tell!’’ exclaimed 
Miss Lee. “What a terrible tale it would be, too. 
Sometimes we forget the cruelty of the pirates in our 
admiration for their enormous grit and courage.” 

“Oh, they were a destructive lot,” said Pete. “I 
chalk up a lot of things against the pirates, but even 
more against the Spanish conquerors. That will sur¬ 
prise you maybe. But not only did those old demons 
steal the riches of the Indians, they destroyed the 
Indians, too. Why, they annihilated whole tribes in 
their everlasting greed for gold. It never occurred 
to them that these creatures, whom they regarded 



Golden Days in Panama 


229 


as pagans to be killed or enslaved, had a culture and 
civilisation of their own.” 

Natalie had never heard Young Peter talk like this 
and she was surprised at his intensity. 

“Gosh, it makes me sore the way tourists act,” he 
went on. “Not you, Nats. You’re different. But 
most people think that Panama is just a short cut 
from one ocean to another. They just come down 
here and oh and ah about the Canal and never give a 
thought to the rest of the country. All they know 
about Panama is that there is a ditch here and all 
the natives sell Panama hats.” 

“Which aren’t made in Panama either,” said Nat¬ 
alie much to Pete’s surprise. 

“Now whoever told you that?” he wanted to 
know. 

“A little bird named Lee,” said Natalie with a gig¬ 
gle. 

“Go on, Pete, with what you were telling us,” said 
Miss Lee. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you folks will think 
I am crazy. Only—well, Panama is so much more 
than just a pleasant place for tourists to visit. It’s a 
wonderfully rich country and it’s chock full of his¬ 
tory, both known and unknown, with such enormous 
gaps in what is known. Maybe there are ways of 
filling them in. That’s what the archeologists believe, 
Aunt Lee, and I mean to have a try at it myself. I’ve 



230 


Natalie 


traveled with parties ’way into the interior of Pan¬ 
ama to places where only a cayuca can go; and found 
there practically unknown races that have lived un¬ 
touched by the outside world for generations. Gee, 
I’m boring you, I am afraid, but now you see why I 
want to go up north to college—so that I can learn 
how to really study all this. It seems more important 
to me than anything else. I don’t know why, but it 
does.” 

They were quiet as they drove back along the 
jungle road. Natalie was thinking that ambition was 
just as Pete said. It didn’t have any rhyme or rea¬ 
son, but when it came it seemed more important than 
anything else. She felt that way more and more 
about her drawing, and she knew it was the same 
with Dick and his work, too. What was it Dick had 
said? Oh, yes, she remembered. It was the day after 
what they liked to call their great reconciliation, 
when he was showing her some paintings at the Mod¬ 
em Museum in New York. “I’ve got to do some¬ 
thing more than just make funny little scratches on 
paper, Nats,” he had said. “I’ve got to do something 
important like this.” 

She remembered how bright his eyes had been 
then, and how intense his voice. And here was Pete, 
looking and sounding the same way but about some¬ 
thing quite different. It was ambition that made them 
seem alike at the moment, thought Natalie. What a 



Golden Days in Panama 


231 


different Pete this was from the happy-go-lucky, teas¬ 
ing boy who made the Hart household such a lively 
one! She was glad she had had a glimpse of this 
Pete. She wished there were some way she could 
help him to the realization of his ambition! 

Although Natalie thought she had been leading 
a very busy life, she was to learn that, according to 
Pete’s standards, she had been sitting around in idle¬ 
ness twiddling her thumbs. She was quite shocked 
when she overheard him asking his aunt, one morn¬ 
ing, if Natalie hadn’t had enough rest now, so that 
she could begin to see something of Panama. Miss 
Lee laughed at that, and Pete said, “Why she hasn’t 
done anything yet! I’ve just been giving her a chance 
to get used to the climate. Now, let’s go places.” 

“All right, let’s,” said Natalie, who came to the 
breakfast table where this amazing conversation was 
going on. 

“Hooray,” shouted Pete. “All aboard for Taboga!” 

“What is Taboga?” asked Natalie. 

“Taboga,” answered Pete, putting his hands to his 
mouth and adopting a tone which he fancied guides 
use, “is a small and prosperous island off the coast 
of the Republic of Panama, reached by gasoline 
launch, unless you happen to be either a whale or a 
pelican. Are you?” 

“Why of course not, Peter,” said Sally-Lou. “She’s 
a girl.” 



2 3 2 


Natalie 


“Excuse me,” said Pete, grinning at Natalie. 
“Taboga, as I was saying, is kissed by the tropical 
sun, cooled by the tropical breeze. It's chief crops 
are fish, flowers and tourists. And its chief claim to 
fame is that it is the only place in Central America 
where Jackie Hart has ever been where he hasn’t got 
lost.” 

“No doubt Jackie will do his very best to remedy 
that oversight,” said Miss Lee. 

“It sounds wonderful,” said Natalie. “May we 
really go?” 

“Why not?” said Mr. Peter. “I think it’s a fine 
idea. It’s Saturday so the kids have no school. I have 
no runs for the next two days, and I guess the house 
can take care of itself for once, eh, Mother? So let’s 
make it a family party. You girls pack up a lunch. 
And Pete, after you have finished breakfast, run 
down in your handsome chariot and engage Jose to 
take us over in his launch.” 

“Oh,” said Leonora, lowering her eyes. “I think 
I’d rather stay at home if you don’t mind.” 

“Why, dear?” asked her mother, anxiously. 

“I know, I know,” said Connie. “She’s waiting 
for a letter from Lieutenant Brady!” 

“Hush, dear,” said Mrs. Constance, frowning at 
Young Connie. Natalie and Miss Lee, seeing the 
blush on Leonora’s cheeks, exchanged a quick glance. 
No wonder, thought Natalie, that Leonora had been 



Golden Days, in Panama 


233 


sad. She had been waiting for an alhimportant letter 
which did not come. 

“Aw, cheer up, Leonora,” said Young Pete. “The 
Fleet’s due in a few days. The lad is on his way here. 
That’s why he didn’t bother to write. Thought he 
would surprise you.” 

“Hush, Pete. You all know too much.” Leonora 
sounded provoked but her eyes were sparkling. Large 
families have their turbulent side, Natalie thought to 
herself. It must be dreadful to have one’s inmost 
affairs discussed so publicly, but apparently Leonora 
was used to it, for she took it with very good grace. 

“Is it really true, Dad?” she asked eagerly. “Have 
you heard?” 

“Pete’s right,” said her father. “But how he heard 
it, I can’t guess and won’t ask. The Fleet’s away ahead 
of schedule for some reason. We are to bring them 
through day after tomorrow. That will be a sight 
for you to see, by the way, Nats. Peter can take you 
to watch the ships go through the Miraflores Locks.” 

“Are they to be stationed here long, Dad?” asked 
Leonora, her voice a lilting song. 

“Quite awhile from what I hear. But don’t go 
prying into the affairs of the U.S. Navy, my girl, or 
I’m in Dutch,” he said with a laugh. 

“That means a round of parties and dances,” said 
Mrs. Constance with a sigh. “We’ll be very gay 
for awhile at least.” 



234 


Natalie 


“If they come through Monday, the welcoming 
party will probably be the following Saturday night. 
And I have nothing to wear!” exclaimed Leonora. 

Mr. Peter chuckled. “Now where have I heard 
that before? Be she a Park Avenue debutante, the 
Queen of Timbuctoo, or the daughter of a poor pilot, 
a lady will always remark, when confronted with a 
social event, ‘I have nothing to wear!’ Tell you what 
I’ll do, Leonora. I’ll lend you my dungarees.” 

“Well,” said Leonora briskly. “Let’s hurry up and 
pack our lunch. Run along, Pete, and collar Jose 
before anyone else discovers what a wonderful, beaw 
tiful day this is for a picnic.” 

Natalie had never seen so sudden and complete a 
change in another human being in her life. Leonora’s 
listlessness vanished as if by magic. There was noth' 
ing forced about her gaiety now. And her energy 
matched even the strenuous Pete’s. 

Although every member of the household noticed 
and was delighted by Leonora’s sudden right-about 
face, no one commented on it. Pete permitted him¬ 
self one broad wink in the direction of Leonora’s 
retreating back, as she hurried into the kitchen, but 
that was all. 

Soon the family piled into a small gasoline launch 
piloted by Jose, a young Panamanian, and struck out 
across the blue Pacific to the small island just dis¬ 
cernible in the distance. Young Peter, who had 



Golden Days in Panama 


m 


seated himself beside Natalie, went on with his guide’s 
chatter. Although his tone was as gay as before, he 
was telling her facts now, and Natalie was listening 
eagerly. For she found that knowing something in 
advance about what she was to see made everything 
so much more interesting. 

“Taboga really is a treasure island,” said Peter. 
“When word reached old Panama that Morgan, the 
pirate, was crossing the Isthmus, the monks took all 
the gold and silver crosses and goblets and such out 
of the churches, and put off to sea. They landed at 
Taboga and buried the treasure there.” 

“Have they dug up the silver and gold from 
Taboga yet, Pete?” asked Young Connie. 

“Let’s dig around and see,” laughed Peter. “Tell 
you what I’ll do, Connie, I promise to give you half 
of all I find.” 

“Thanks, Pete,” said Connie, gravely. “And I’ll 
give you half of mine.” 

“Pete, Pete, don’t tease Connie so,” chided Mrs. 
Constance. “I’m afraid we are several hundred years 
too late to find the buried treasure, Connie dear.” 

“Oh,” said Connie, in a disappointed tone. 

As they neared the island, Natalie saw the slender 
palm trees which lined the coast, swaying in the 
warm tropical breeze. The sea, a glorious aqua' 
marine, broke softly against the white sand. “I just 
can’t get used to all this beauty,” she sighed happily. 



236 


Natalie 


Jose skillfully guided the launch into the harbor 
and they tied up against a small dock. 

“While the rest of you go sightseeing or swim' 
ming or whatever else you have in mind, Jose and I 
are going to do some fishing,” announced Mr. Peter. 
“We'll meet here for lunch in three hours.” 

The youngest Harts were eager to get into the 
water, but Natalie begged them to stroll around the 
picturesque village before they had their plunge. 
She was getting a great deal of entertainment far 
away in this strange land out of everything alien to 
the life she knew. 

“Okay,” said young Pete, “I see you are armed to 
the teeth as usual with camera and sketching stuff.” 

“Let's climb the hill and see the view,” said Nat' 
alie. “I just can't get over the color of the sea.” 

“And I want to see the flowers,” said Miss Lee. 
“You youngsters can't imagine what these flowers 
mean to me. I can hardly ever afford to buy flowers 
in New York. Of course some gardens there are 
lovely too, but very different. To see orchids and 
jasmine and tuberoses growing wild again is almost 
too lovely to bear!” 

So they strolled around the little village, nestled in 
the grove of tamarinds, and Miss Lee and Natalie, 
much to the amusement of the children, exclaimed 
at the flowers which to the young Harts were as 
common as weeds. 



Golden Days in Panama 


237 


But they could not long resist the lure of the 
beach. With one hand in Pete's and the other in 
Leonora’s, Natalie jumped the breakers with the best 
of them. To see her now one would never guess that 
only a few months before she had been the little lame 
girl of Harding Hall. 

“There’s no tonic in the world like happiness, 
Constance,” Miss Lee said to her sister-in-law. “Just 
look at that girl! How I wish her father could see 
her now!” 

“And look at mine,” said Mrs. Constance, happily. 
“Here I’ve been eating out my heart with worry 
over Leonora, and just see! One word that the Fleet 
is on its way here and she is as gay as a lark!” 

“Who is this Lieutenant Brady?” asked Miss Lee. 

“A nice, upstanding young American lad from 
Virginia,” Mrs. Constance answered. “I knew Leo¬ 
nora liked him. He was most attentive when the 
Fleet was stationed here last. But I had no idea it 
went deeper than that until Connie upset the apple 
cart this morning.” 

“What a little chatterbox she is,” Miss Lee said 
with a chuckle. “However, I must say Leonora took 
it very well. You have a very devoted family, haven’t 
you, Constance? There’s very little squabbling.” 

“Yes, I think I am lucky in my family. Of course 
we do tease one another sometimes, but never un¬ 
kindly.” 



238 


Natalie 


“That’s why it is such a nice family to visit,’’ said 
Natalie, who had left the young Harts in the water 
while she came up on the beach to rest. “I think I’ll 
stay up here with you for awhile, if I may. I can’t 
quite keep up with those strenuous Harts. But oh, 
it is such fun in the surf! No wonder Young Pete 
calls the hotel pool a glorified bath tub.” 

They made room for her under the awning that 
sheltered them from the burning sun and chuckled 
as they watched the antics of the children in the 
water. Young Pete with SallyTou clinging to his 
back, was swimming out beyond the breakers. 

“How those two remind me of Pete Senior and 
myself,” exclaimed Miss Lee. “That’s the way he 
used to swim with me years ago.” 

Leonora and Connie were playing a game called 
Where’s ]ac\ic? One or the other of the girls would 
call out the question, thereby distracting Jackie’s 
attention, whereupon the other would steal up and 
grab Jackie’s foot, at which he squealed with delight. 

“Leonora seems awfully happy at the news Pete 
gave her,” said Natalie. 

“Oh, we all have a good time when the Fleet is in,” 
said Mrs. Constance. “Even old ladies like myself 
step out. The Zone is very lively with parties. And 
that reminds me. Leonora and I will have to do some 
dressmaking. In spite of her father’s teasing her this 
morning, the dear girl does need a new party dress. 



Golden^ Days in Panama 


m 

I hope we can make last year’s over successfully.” 

“I’ve done that sort of thing all my life,” said 
Miss Lee, “making over last year’s clothes to fit this 
year’s styles. Maybe I can help.” 

“I’m glad I brought my blue taffeta after all,” 
thought Natalie. She smiled to herself as she remem¬ 
bered her vow made long ago when she packed that 
dress away forever —the vow that she would never 
again attend a dance as long as she lived. But that 
was a different Natalie Harding who had made that 
vow, Natalie mused, not the one who could jump in 
the surf, nor the one who had made a success of the 
Masquerade Dance on board ship. 

And then a doubt crept into her mind. Was that 
dance on board ship such a success, after all? “If I 
seemed stiff and awkward then, they probably 
thought I was living up to my costume,” her thoughts 
raced on, “and now I won’t have any costume to 
cover me up! Oh, dear, what if—? I wish they would 
go without me, but of course I mustn’t act like this.” 
She began to reason with herself as she had done 
before the glass the night when she and Dick had 
had their famous battle. “Why, I’m getting more 
limber every day with all this good exercise and 
massage. Of course I am. I’ll just go to the old dance 
and pretend everything is okay!” she decided reso¬ 
lutely. “But I do wish I could get in a little practice 
ahead of time!” 



240 


Natalie 


“Such is the life of a pilot’s wife,” Mrs. Constance 
was saying as Natalie came out of her reverie. 
“Sometimes the budget has a hard time accommodate 
ing extras. But we manage.” 

Natalie thought they managed very well. Their 
way of life was anything but elaborate, but the fam- 
ily was well and happy and the house comfortable. 
Mrs. Constance and Leonora did the housework, for 
after her graduation, Leonora had banished the maid 
so that the maid’s wages could be saved to help send 
Young Pete to college. 

“How long does it take an air mail letter to go to 
New York, Mrs. Constance?” asked Natalie, sud¬ 
denly. 

“About forty-eight hours.” 

Natalie said no more, but she was excited over a 
thought which had come to her as she listened to 
Mrs. Constance talk about the dresses. Now she 
knew how to use some of the money she had earned 
from Dick and in the way she most wanted to spend 
it. These people were so nice to her, especially Leo¬ 
nora, of whom she was so fond. She would get her 
Aunt Bess to buy a new dress for Leonora with her 
own money. But she would keep it a secret from 
everyone, even Miss Lee. No, she would take Young 
Pete into her confidence. He would be able to help. 

“What’s the joke, young lady?” asked Miss Lee. 

“Why—ah—why,” Natalie had never deceived 



Golden Days in Panama 


241 


Miss Lee and she hated to begin now. To hide her 
embarrassment she dug into her bathing case and 
produced her ever-present pad and pencil. 

"Just an idea for Minnie Mis-hap,” she said. "One 
of the cruise series. Looky, Miss Lee, do you think 
this one is good for a starter toward another fifty 
dollars ? 11 

She flipped over a few pages of her notebook to a 
sketch of Minnie Mis-hap trying desperately to es¬ 
cape from a sinking ship by using a porpoise as a life- 
saver. 

Miss Lee laughed. "That’s just like Minnie , 11 she 
said. "The right idea, but the wrong execution, as 
your father says . 11 

Mrs. Constance wanted to hear all about Minnie, 
so Miss Lee told her the long story, laying particular 
stress on the days following the accident, when Nat¬ 
alie’s skill and resourcefulness had helped save her 
father’s work. 

"Those were awfully happy days, weren’t they, 
Miss Lee? Sometimes I think they were the best 
days of my life. If Daddy were only here, too, these 
would be the best.” 

"Here comes Ike Walton,” said Miss Lee abruptly, 
as Mr. Peter came up the beach. “He looks as pleased 
as punch. Hi, Big Pete,” she called. "Has Panama 
been living up to its name?” 

"What does that mean?” asked Natalie. 



242 


Natalie 


“Hush, don’t let Young Pete hear you or he would 
be horrified at your northern ignorance. Panama 
means place of many fish.” 

Natalie, whose knowledge of fish was limited to 
the black bass and trout which she and her father 
caught at their camp, thought that most of these 
strange creatures belonged in an aquarium. 

“Sometimes I feel like Alice in Wonderland down 
here,” she confessed. “Everything is different. Even 
fish!” 

Late in the evening they started for home. Jose’s 
launch churned through the sea, leaving a path of 
jewels in its wake. The golden tropical night was all 
about them. While Jackie, who had not ruined T;i' 
boga’s reputation about himself, slept peacefully in 
his mother’s arms, and SallyTou tried valiantly to 
stay awake propped against her father’s arm, the 
young people began to sing. Soon the others joined 
in as they sang the good old songs that every Ameri' 
can knows and loves, Old Folks at Home, Juanita, and 
of course Dixie. Jose, his white teeth gleaming in the 
moonlight, kept time with his bare feet. 

The beautiful harbor welcomed them back to the 
mainland. A tired, sleepy, but very happy family 
made its way home. But before they reached the 
house, Natalie drew Pete aside and whispered to him, 
“Will you run down town and mail a letter for me, 
air mail?” 



Golden Days in Panama 


m 

“Sure, but no planes take off until Monday.” 

“Oh, dear,” said Natalie, thinking that if this were 
the case, Aunt Bess could not possibly get the dress 
back in time for the welcoming dance. 

“Well, if you’re in such an all-fired hurry, what’s 
the matter with a week-end cable?” asked Pete, prov¬ 
ing that for all his interest in the past he was alive 
to the advantages of modern invention. 

“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea. Will you send it for 
me, Pete, right away? Here, lend me your pencil.” 
She hurriedly wrote a message. “And here’s some 
money. Can you read it?” 

“Let’s see: 

MRS. WILLIAM RODGERS 

—RIVERSIDE DRIVE 

NEW YORK 

PLEASE SEND AIR MAIL FOR SATURDAY NIGHT SILVER 

OR ROSE EVENING GOWN, SIZE SIXTEEN, HEIGHT 

FIVE FEET SIX MONEY FOLLOWS 

NATS 

“Yes,” he said swallowing hard, “I can read it and 
I know who it’s for, too. You’re one swell kid, Nats!” 






Natalie was a little conscience-stricken as she saw 
how diligently Mrs. Constance and Miss Lee set to 
work to transform Leonora’s party dress. But she 
dared not tell them of her cablegram to Aunt Bess. 
All sorts of things might happen to delay the arrival 
of the dress. Heavy weather might keep the plane 
grounded or, worse yet, it might crack up and spill 
its precious cargo into the sea! She confided her 
fears to Young Pete who did his best to reassure her. 

"Don’t worry so, Nats,” he said, comfortingly. 

2 44 


Special Messenger 


245 


“Let them fix up the old dress anyway. Maybe Leo- 
nora will need a second best.” And judging by the 
number of invitations that were coming in, Natalie 
agreed that Pete was probably right. 

For the Canal Zone seemed to be on a glorious 
holiday. Ever since Natalie had watched the somber 
gray ships piloted through the locks she had felt the 
excitement and gaiety in the air. Everybody in the 
Zone was scurrying around busy with plans for 
dances and parties. The streets were full of sailor 
boys laughing and roistering, glad of a few hours re¬ 
spite from discipline. Less boisterous, but still very 
much enjoying shore leave, were the white-uniformed 
officers. 

Lieutenant Bob Brady became an almost constant 
guest at the Hart household. He was a nice young 
chap and devoted to Leonora, although beside such 
a voluble young person as Pete, he seemed quiet in¬ 
deed. For all that he carried the dignity of the 
United States Navy on his broad shoulders, he was 
not too proud to go riding around in the Fallen Arch. 
The four of them had lively times together. Lieu¬ 
tenant Brady escorted them all over the “tub”, as 
Young Pete disrespectfully called the very orderly 
gunboat on which Lieutenant Brady was an officer. 
Natalie remarked that it always surprised her to see 
how tidy men were on boats when they were often 
quite the opposite around the house. 



246 


Natalie 


“That’s because we don’t want to spoil you worn" 
en,” said Pete. “It would never do to let you find 
out that we can do the housework better than you 
can, or you would make us do it all the time.” 

“It’s pretty lonesome on board ship with no ladies 
around,” volunteered Lieutenant Brady grinning 
sheepishly at Leonora. “So we fill in our spare time 
cleaning house.” 

The excitement pervading the Canal Zone was 
running high in the Hart household and Natalie was 
carried along with the tide. Everyone was preparing 
for the Welcome Ball to be given the officers at the 
big club house. 

“Don’t forget, madam,” Mr. Pete said sternly to 
his wife, “my duds and Young Pete’s have to be 
prettied up, too.” So Mrs. Constance sponged and 
pressed her husband’s dress uniform and ordered a 
new white mess jacket for Young Pete. 

“You mustn’t tell anybody you are being escorted 
by a fellow who works on the hyacinth patrol,” said 
Young Pete. “That isn’t done by the socially elite 
in Panama, you know. I’ll be about the only fellow 
there not in uniform. Sure you don’t mind going 
with a chap in mufti?” 

“Silly!” said Natalie. “I like mufti better any day.” 

“You probably won’t have to see much of me any" 
way, so it won’t matter,” said Pete, “in case you are 
just being polite. When the sailor lads see a lass from 



Special Messenger 


247 


New York I might as well scram. Promise me the 
first dance though.” 

“Perhaps one will be enough,” Natalie retorted. 

Although she sounded flippant, Natalie was still 
apprehensive. She tried to recapture the mood of 
self-confidence she had gained at the Masquerade 
Dance on board ship, but no one could be hurt as 
badly as she had been at the Autumn Ball, without 
a lingering dread that she might again be a wall¬ 
flower. She vowed to herself that whatever hap¬ 
pened, nothing like that should be repeated here. 
She would not let Young Pete get stuck with her 
and have to drag her around as poor Teddy had done. 
She would leave the place first! 

“To tell you the truth,” Pete was saying, “I bet 
one dance will be all you are willing to give me. I 
never was any Fred Astaire, and, since I haven’t 
been on a dance floor for about a year, Pm as rusty 
as a horseshoe nail in an automobile plant.” 

“That makes it unanimous,” said Miss Lee, who 
had overheard this conversation. “Let’s persuade 
your mother to let us roll back the rugs tonight, 
Pete, and have a rehearsal to the radio. With Lieu¬ 
tenant Brady here, and the two Petes,” she said, 
turning to Natalie, “we will be able to get quite a 
little practice. They can give us some tips on dancing 
a la Central America.” 

“Miss Lee to the rescue as usual,” thought Natalie. 



248 


Natalie 


'That’s a swell idea, Aunt Lee,” said Young Pete 
when Miss Lee proposed the family dancing party at 
the supper table that night. “You two can teach us 
some of the latest New York wrinkles. We don’t 
want you gals to find us behind the times down here. 
Come on, Mum,” he said, offering his arm to his 
mother. “Let’s shake a leg.” 

They had a jolly evening. It was especially happy 
for Natalie, for now she knew for certain that Leo- 
nora’s dress was safely on the way. Just before sup¬ 
per Young Pete had surreptitiously handed her a 
cablegram from Aunt Bess: 

FROCK ON WAY BY SPECIAL MESSENGER ARRIVES 

FRIDAY EVENING LOVE 

BESS 

“I don’t know what the special messenger means,” 
Pete remarked, when Natalie gave him the cable to 
read. “Do you suppose your aunt is sending it down 
by her own delivery boy?” 

Natalie wondered, too. Wondered and hoped that 
she had understood the message correctly. She got 
out her father’s last letter and studied it carefully. 
In it he had thanked her for the funny sketch of one 
of the Hart luncheons which she had sent him some 
time before. “Was that a blush or sunburn on Miss 
Lee’s face?” he asked. “If the first, I wonder why?” 

And Natalie had answered, “Maybe she was wish¬ 
ing it were true, and so do I!” 



Special Messenger 


249 


The family dance was a huge success. After a few 
false starts, Natalie grew sure of herself and with 
each dance her confidence increased. If she could 
dance as well as this in the Hart’s crowded living 
room, surely she would be all right on a ballroom 
floor! And certainly she had in the two Petes and 
the young lieutenant, a wide variety of styles of part' 
ners, each with a method all his own for her to follow. 

“I got along all right, didn’t I, Miss Lee?” Natalie 
asked that night as, weary but extremely happy, they 
prepared for bed. “All this exercise I have been tak' 
ing, plus your wonderful massage, has done the trick.” 

“Plus something else, too,” Miss Lee answered, 
as she kissed the girl good night. “A confident 
heart!” 

Mr. Peter suggested that they have another prac' 
tice dance on the following night. Mrs. Constance 
agreed, although she reminded them that they must 
all get to bed early in order to be extra fit for the 
great Ball the night after. 

Again the reed rugs were rolled up and the radio 
turned on. Such joyful sounds issued from the house' 
hold that a man with a long flat package in his hand, 
had a difficult time making himself heard over the 
uproar, as he pounded on the door. 

Finally Young Connie called out, “Somebody’s 
knocking at the door,” and rushed out on the porch. 

“Package for Miss Leonora Hart,” said a voice. 



250 


Natalie 


“Oh, thank you, sir,” said Connie, and hurried 
back into the room, unceremoniously leaving the mes' 
senger standing on the door step. “Leonora,” she 
cried excitedly. “Here’s a package for you!” 

The dancing stopped as the family gathered around 
Leonora to see what was in the mysterious box. 
Leonora lifted the cover. Out came a beautiful rose 
evening gown with a little silver jacket. Every grace' 
ful fold proclaimed it chic New York. 

“Oh, how wonderful, how beautiful!” cried Leo' 
nora. “Is it really for me?” 

“That’s what the man said,” Connie told her. 
“And look, it’s got your name on the box.” 

“Who could have sent it? Mummie you didn’t, 
you mustn’t,” she said. Then she stopped, for she 
noticed how studiedly unconcerned Natalie was look' 
ing. “Nats darling, is this what you did with your 
Minnie Mis'hap money?” 

“Sure she did, dumbbell,” said Young Pete, “and 
she has about pestered the life out of me for fear it 
wouldn’t get here in time.” 

Leonora went over and put her arms around Nat' 
alie. “Nats, I think you’re the nicest, most generous 
girl in the world!” 

“Indeed she is,” said Mrs. Constance, warmly. 
“But Natalie, dear, you really shouldn’t have spent 
so much money. It worries me.” 

“Dad said I was to do whatever I wanted with it,” 



Special Messenger 


251 


said Natalie. “So please don’t worry, Mrs. Con' 
stance.” 

“ That’s what you were planning on the beach at 
Taboga the other day, was it?” asked Miss Lee, smil¬ 
ing affectionately at Natalie. 

“Why don’t you go and try it on, Leonora?” sug¬ 
gested Mr. Peter. 

The family sat waiting expectantly for Leonora to 
reappear. Now that they were quiet, they became 
aware of a persistent knocking at the front door. 

“See who it is, Connie,” said Mrs. Constance. 

“It’s the man who brought Leonora’s dress,” said 
Connie, coming back into the room. “He says please 
may he come in and join our dance and why don’t 
we pay any attention to him?” 

“A-ha!” cried Natalie, “I see it all now,” and she 
rushed to the door. There was a glad little cry, a 
resounding kiss, and, before the startled eyes of Miss 
Lee, Natalie led Donald Harding into the room. 

“Here’s Leonora’s special messenger!” cried Nat¬ 
alie. 

“Oh, Donald,” said Miss Lee. “How glad I am to 
see you!” If Natalie and her father needed further 
assurance they got it then. “Nats, you monkey, did 
you know it all the time?” 

“Honestly I didn’t,” Natalie said. “Did I, Dad?” 

“No, but you were responsible for putting ideas 
into my head—you and your pictures,” her father 



252 


Natalie 


answered, whereat much to the perplexity of the 
others, they both laughed. 

"But tell me, Dad ," 1 said Natalie, after the clamor 
of greetings and introductions was over. "How did 
you manage to come? Don't tell me you have sold 
Harding Hall again." 

"Well, you see," said Donald Harding to the Harts 
in general, "ever since Natalie got here she has been 
singing the praises of the wonderful Hart family, 
and I wanted to meet you, too. But of course, as 
Natalie has just suggested, that seemed out of the 
question. So I decided that our firm ought to get 
the advertising contract for the steamship company 
that manages cruises to Panama, and so forth, and I 
went after 'em hammer and tongs. It's a joke on you, 
Nats. We are going to use your letter as a basis for 
a little leaflet for Cruises for Juniors. 

"Well, I finally landed the contract with the steam' 
ship company, but then my troubles began in earnest, 
for I had an even harder time persuading my part' 
ners that I couldn't write authentic copy about Pan' 
ama until I'd seen the place. They told me I could 
use Natalie's snapshots, the encyclopedia and my 
own imagination. And I didn't win out until I 
brought in another contract from the airways. Then 
they gave in with a vengeance, just in time, as you 
all see, for me to fly down to be messenger boy for 
Miss Leonora Hart, Jr." His eyes twinkled as he 



Special Messenger 


2 53 


looked at Leonora who, clad in her new finery had 
just come into the room. “Rather worth the trip, 
Til say.” 

“And will you be here long, Daddy?” Natalie 
asked, when the family had praised Leonora’s beau- 
tiful dress. 

“It depends on how fast I can work,” said her 
father. “I’ve got to produce some awfully good stuff 
to justify the expense of this trip in the eyes of the 
firm. All you Panama enthusiasts will have to help 
me.” 

“I hope it will take a long time, Daddy,” said Nat¬ 
alie. “It will be wonderful having you here, too.” 

“Well, Leonora,” said Mrs. Constance, briskly, “I 
think you and I should fix your special messenger 
a bite of supper, and I’m sure we would all like a cold 
drink. Take off your new dress and come along.” 

When Mrs. Constance and Leonora came back 
into the room with trays of good things to eat and 
drink, everyone forgot the resolve to go to bed early, 
so absorbed were they in getting acquainted with 
Natalie’s father. They gave him the same hearty 
welcome they had given Natalie. It was easy to see, 
thought Donald Harding, why such a family had 
been the best possible tonic for Natalie, just as Miss 
Lee had predicted. 

All but Jackie, who was safely asleep in bed, gath¬ 
ered around their new friend. Sally-Lou, who had 



2 54 


Natalie 


been allowed to skip her bedtime, took one look at 
him, and forthwith climbed up into his lap which 
she refused to leave. Plump little Connie sat on a 
cushion at his feet, hanging on his every word. 

At last, putting sleepy little Sally-Lou into her 
mother’s arms, he rose to go. “I’ve engaged a room 
at the Central,” he said. “Can I get a taxi to take me 
there?” 

“Let’s drive him, Nats,” suggested Young Pete. 
“Come along with us. Aunt Lee, won’t you?” 

“It really is a car, Daddy,” said Natalie, seeing her 
father’s quizzical expression as he surveyed the Fallen 
Arch. 

“Nats is right, sir,” said Young Pete. “It may look 
like the remains of a junk heap after an earthquake 
has struck it, but it is safe and speedy.” 

“I’ll vouch for that,” said Miss Lee. 

“Very well,” said Donald Harding as he climbed 
in. “I’ll take your word for it, but please be careful. 
For if ever there was a night when I wanted the 
world to stand still safe and sound, this is it!” 

“We will do better by you tomorrow night,” said 
Young Pete. “Dad has engaged two cars and has 
planned that we are to arrive at the Club House in 
style.” 

And in style they went, and fittingly too, for they 
were a finedooking party. Young Pete looked very 
handsome in his new white mess jacket, and Leonora 



Special Messenger 


255 


ravishingly lovely in her new dress. Lieutenant Brady 
beamed with pride as he led her into the ballroom. 

“You're the prettiest girl here," he whispered to 
her. 

“Thanks to Natalie," said Leonora. 

“Oh, it isn't the dress," said Bob Brady, seriously. 
“You'd be pretty no matter what you wore. Now 
please save a few dances for me." 

As for Natalie, she was much too excited to worry 
about being a wallflower. Clad in the blue taffeta 
dress that had once covered such an unhappy young 
heart, she was radiant. So it was that she seemed to 
everyone, as her doctor uncle had predicted, just 
what she was—a mighty attractive young lady. Judg¬ 
ing by the number of times her partners felt per¬ 
emptory taps on their shoulders, he had been quite 
correct in his diagnosis. 

It was the first of a series of parties for the Fleet, 
and those in charge had determined that it be an 
especially fine one. The tropical night did its part, 
too. Dancing under the beautiful moonlit sky, Nat¬ 
alie was suddenly wafted back in memory to the little 
Ball at school. “I guess I was pretty silly," she said 
to herself. “Maybe it was just that I was afraid. 
And oh, how good Teddy was to me that night! 
Well, I'll make it up to him somehow, some day." 

She was dancing with Young Pete at the moment. 
“Look here," he said in mock complaint, “I’ve been 



25 6 


Natalie 


chasing around for about an hour trying to dance 
with you. Drat the Navy! Fm going to keep you 
awhile this time.” 

But at once there was a tap on his shoulder and 
Natalie looked up into the eyes of her father. 

"Everybody happy?” he asked, softly. 

"Yay man, as Cindy used to say,” she answered. 

"There’s someone over here who wants to see you, 
Nats. I hope she will always be happy, too.” 

"Miss Lee, Daddy?” 

"Yes, dear. She says I am to get your consent be- 
fore she gives me hers.” Natalie’s hand tightened on 
her father’s arm as they waltzed away together to 
the terrace where Miss Lee waited. 

"Hello, Mother Lee,” said Natalie without hesita- 
tion, and held out her arms. "It’s swell!” she whis- 
pered. "It’s simply swell!” And with another kiss 
to her lovely young mother-to-be, she went back into 
the ballroom. 

"Cheerio!” cried the voice of Mr. Peter. "Whither 
away? My dance, if you please.” 

"Aye, aye, sir!” answered Natalie, happily. "Oh, 
Mr. Peter, Mr. Peter, let me whisper the news.” 

"Bless my soul alive!” said Mr. Peter. "Now isn’t 
that scrumptious?” 

"That sort of makes you my uncle,” said Natalie. 
"Well, I’ve certainly acquired a large new family by 
coming to Panama!” 



YOUNG PETE 


Chapter XVII 
FAMILY OF FOUR 

And now Miss Lee had another Harding to whom 
she could show the wonders and beauties of the Isth' 
mus of Panama. It meant a great deal to her to have 
Donald Harding on hand, to relive with him the 
memories of her childhood. And for Natalie of 
course, it made everything twice as delightful and as 
interesting with her father there to share it with her. 

Natalie imparted information about Panama almost 
like a native daughter. She agreed with the Hart 
family that her father was to have a real knowledge 
of the country as a background for his advertising 
257 


258 


Natalie 


copy. Mr. Peter of course, supplied detailed informa' 
tion about the Canal, and Pete the history of the 
Isthmus and something of the folklore of the natives. 
But it was Natalie and Miss Lee who kept impress' 
ing upon him the beauty of it all, especially of the 
jungle. 

“Now we know what this lady used to rave to us 
about, don't we, Nats," said Donald Harding one 
day, when the three of them had returned from a 
favorite jungle walk. “And I know how it makes 
you feel too, Nats, about wanting to try to get it on 
paper. It makes even me have an itching in my 
fingers to hold a paint brush again. But only a great 
artist could get it. Not I, certainly, and we don't 
know about you, yet, although we are certainly go' 
ing to give you a chance to find out when we all get 
home again and you seriously take up your art study. 
I think Dick Frost is artist enough to do it. He has 
real talent, that boy. He took me to his studio and 
showed me some of his serious work shortly before 
I came away. I believe he is the real thing." 

“But weren't you the real thing, Dad, before you 
hurt your hand?" 

“No, honey. I had a flair, not a talent. It is easy 
to mistake one for the other. I could make amusing 
little drawings, but there was nothing great and em 
during about them." 

“But Dad—" Natalie protested. 



Family of Four 


259 


“Cheer up, darling ,' 1 her father said. “It's a funny 
thing, but I really like being a first-rate business man 
better than I ever liked being a tenth-rate artist. For 
I believe I can get somewhere. Oh, it isn't just the 
making of money," he went on quickly, as he noticed 
the surprised looks on their faces. “We want to pro¬ 
mote beautiful advertising, too. Just think, every¬ 
body in America sees advertisements all the time— 
in magazines, in papers and on billboards. Just imag¬ 
ine how beautiful the world would be if the best 
artists made those pictures, not only the artists that 
we know about, but some of the young eager ones 
who have no outlet for their good work." 

“You mean," asked Miss Lee, “that advertisements 
would have really beautiful pictures, not the cheap, 
garish stuff we so often see?" 

“That's it!" Donald Harding answered. 

“Then so-called commercial art can be as beautiful 
and fine a thing as what we now call fine art," she 
said. “Why Donald, what a wonderful idea!" 

“That is the sort of thing we have committed our¬ 
selves to," he said. “And that is one of the reasons 
it has been such slow going. But things are looking 
up. These two travel contracts I am working on now 
have given us a great deal of hope for the future. It 
will take time and be hard work, but things that come 
too easily are never as much fun as those we work 
for, did you ever notice that, Nats?" 



26 o 


Natalie 


She nodded. “I like what you just said about beau- 
tiful advertising, Daddy , 11 she said. “It makes me 
think of something Dick said to me once. We were 
in a museum looking at some pictures, and he said, C I 
wish we could get this stuff out of here where every¬ 
body could see it. Art belongs to everybody ! 1 If 
your plans come through it will be getting art out 
where everybody can see it, won't it, Daddy ? 11 

“Yes dear, and I shouldn't be at all surprised if 
our Mister Dick will be one of the people who will 
help do it. Who knows, maybe you will be a candi¬ 
date, too." 

“Oh, do you really think so, Daddy?" asked Nat¬ 
alie, eagerly. “Do you think I have enough talent, 
not just a flair?" 

“I don't know, dear, but I mean to find out. And, 
if so, I'll see to it that you have the best training that 
we can get you. Besides, we will see what they have 
to say about you at Art School next year." 

“Art School?" asked Miss Lee. “That isn't going 
to cut out college for Nats, is it? Why not both—a 
course at Barnard, there in New York, with much 
emphasis on art and history, which seem to be the 
two things Nats cares most for. Isn't that better?" 

“Well, I guess you are right," said Daddy. “Wise 
Lee! An anchor to windward, eh? Maybe we can 
tuck in a course at Art School, too." 



Family of Four 


261 


They spent many happy hours making plans for 
the home they were to have in New York, for Dom 
aid Harding’s firm had definitely decided that he was 
to be in charge of the New York office upon his 
return. 

“It is what I have always dreamed about, Daddy,” 
Natalie said to her father one time, “working with 
you in New York. And if I am ever a good enough 
artist to be admitted to your advertising group, that 
is just what it will be, won’t it? I used to daydream 
about how we would be perched up in the clouds in 
a New York apartment with our easels before us, 
drawing away for dear life. But this will be better 
even than the dream.” Suddenly she chuckled. 

“What’s the joke?” her father asked. 

“Oh, I was just thinking, and it’s not the first time 
either, how many swell things have happened to you 
and me because we had that awful accident.” 

Daddy laughed. “Makes us sound like a pair of 
Pollyannas to say it, but that was sort of a happy 
accident for both of us, at least in its results. Wasn’t 
it? It stirred up nice things for a lot of people. How- 
ever, let’s not tempt fate by having another one. It 
mightn’t work twice.” 

After Young Pete had given Natalie’s father his 
oration on what was really worth while in Panama, 
and had proved his remarks by showing their guest 
from the States some of the lesser known places, 



262 


Natalie 


Donald Harding was completely converted to Pete’s 
point of view. 

“I’m going to take your advice, Pete,” he said, 
“and give tourists something to think about besides 
the Canal. Not forgetting, of course,” he went on 
with a bow to Mr. Peter, “what a marvelous piece 
of engineering it is. Maybe I can get the Republic 
of Panama interested in helping me get out some lit' 
erature for tourists as Mexico has done. And Pete, 
if I have to go farther afield, I’ll need a guide. Will 
you take the job? I don’t know how much I can 
wrangle out of the company for expenses, but it will 
help swell your college fund somewhat.” 

Nothing could have pleased Pete more than such 
an opening. He took Donald Harding farther and 
farther afield, penetrating deeper into the jungle than 
ever Natalie had gone, visiting strange tribes and see' 
ing many strange sights. The two became great 
friends, and the older man wished he might find some 
way to help the boy get the archeological training 
he so much wanted. 

One day Donald Harding had a long talk with the 
Senior Harts, and, with their consent, he proposed 
to Pete that he should accompany the Harding fam' 
ily up north. 

“There will be three of us by then, you know,” 
he said happily. “And now that I am through with 
leg work and can stay put for a change, we can offer 



Family of Four 


263 


Pete a home in our house while he takes a course at 
Columbia. I wish I could do more, but life isn't a 
story book. However, my brother-in-law, Bill Rodg¬ 
ers, has many connections among important people 
in the educational world. Perhaps he can arrange 
some kind of scholarship. At any rate, Pete will have 
plenty of time this spring to find out what is open 
for him, if he goes north when we do. What do 
you say, Pete?" 

But Young Pete was too full of happiness and grati¬ 
tude to trust himself to speak. He walked across the 
floor and awkwardly shook Donald Harding’s hand. 

“What do you say, Nats?" asked Miss Lee. 

“I say it’s swell," said Natalie. “And now I’ll have 
a brother as well as a mother. We’ll be the family 
of four!" 

“You do have excellent ideas, my dear," said her 
father. “Look here, why don’t we start now?" 

“What do you mean, Donald?" asked Miss Lee. 

“I mean that Panama would be a wonderful coun¬ 
try for a wedding. I mean, why don’t we get mar¬ 
ried now instead of waiting until we get back to 
New York?" 

“How splendid!" cried Mrs. Connie. “Oh, do say 
yes, Lee. You can be married right here in your own 
home with your big brother Pete to give you away." 

“And Leonora and me as bridesmaids," said Nat¬ 
alie. 



264 


Natalie 


“And me for best man,” said Young Pete, or 
won't I do?" 

“Why not?" said Daddy. “And Mrs. Connie as 
matron of honor, and Young Connie and Sally-Lou 
as flower girls. Quite a family affair. Everybody 
accounted for but Jackie. What kind of job can we 
give him?" 

“He can keep himself found," suggested Young 
Pete. “That's a man-sized job!" 

“But, Aunt Lee," cried Leonora, “how about your 
trousseau?" 

“I can wait and buy that in New York," said Miss 
Lee. “And suppose we have the ceremony in the 
evening. Then we can wear our party clothes as we 
did for the Welcome Ball." 

And so it came about. It was, as Mr. Pete said, 
a hurry-up affair, but with so many willing helpers, 
it was all accomplished with dispatch. 

A prettier wedding was never seen. The Hart’s 
living room was decorated with gorgeous, fragrant 
tropical flowers. Young Pete had gone deep into the 
jungle for the rare and exquisite Holy Ghost flower 
for a special bridal bouquet for his much-loved aunt. 
Each member of the family played his role splen¬ 
didly. Even Jackie was not remiss. 

The girls looked their prettiest—thought Lieuten¬ 
ant Brady—especially one of them. As Leonora's 
eyes met those of the young officer they smiled a 





A prettier wedding was never seen 























Family of Four 


267 


promise that before long, this scene would be re- 
peated for another Leonora Hart. 

Natalie’s eyes were shining as she watched her 
father place the ring on Miss Lee’s hand, and heard 
his voice, vibrant and happy, while he said the words 
that changed their world. 

“And now,” she told herself, “now I have a 
mother.” And her heart was full. 

After the simple ceremony the whole party 
trouped to the big hotel for a wedding supper and 
one farewell dance under the tropical sky. For next 
day the little family of four was to embark for their 
new home in the great city up north. 






Chapter XVIII 
COMMENCEMENT 

“Daddy,” said Natalie, “Do you know what day 
this is?” 

The family of four was seated at breakfast one 
morning late in spring. A breeze from across the 
Hudson blew gently into the windows of the apart' 
ment where they were living together so happily. 

“Let’s see,” answered her father. “It isn’t Christ' 
mas or Washington’s birthday, or—” 

“Not even the Fourth of July,” put in Pete. “Any 
'deas, Aunt Lee?” 


268 


Commencement 


269 


“Try Wednesday,” suggested Miss Lee. 

“I give up,” said Daddy. 

“Why I am surprised at you!” Natalie said. “Two 
years ago today a certain good ship Bobolink had a 
wreck, all but ruining her Captain and First Mate. 
And now look at us!” 

“So it did, and here we are!” said her father, look' 
ing around the table with his most appreciative grin. 
“Quite a sizeable improvement, I’ll say. And wouldn’t 
you think it might have something to do with the 
fact that we took on a new pilot?” he asked with a 
bow to his bride. 

“Not a doubt of it,” said Natalie. “But I thought 
I’d just remind you. Come on, Pete. Walk down 
the Drive with me before you go grubbing around 
among the old bones in your Museum. Will you?” 

“Sure,” said Pete, “and if I could ever pry you 
away from Dick’s Art School long enough I would 
show you that there is a lot in my museum besides 
bones.” 

“All right, Pete,” Natalie answered. “I’ll do it 
next term when I haven’t anything else to do but 
go to college. Right now I’m too busy filling in the 
gaps, as Dick says, of a high school art course. And 
by the way,” she went on, turning to her family, “I 
wrote Mr. Collins asking him to arrange for me to 
take that Modem History exam right away, so that 
I can present all my credentials to Barnard. They’ve 



270 


Natalie 


got to be sure I actually have graduated from high 
school before they will agree to let me in their sacred 
portals. Funny way to graduate, isn’t it,” there was 
a little note of longing in her voice, “by long distance 
via mail. Well, come on Pete, and so long, family. 
See you tonight.” With a gay little laugh she tweaked 
her father’s nose and placed a light kiss on Miss Lee’s 
forehead. And keeping right on with their good- 
natured bickering, the two young people left the 
room. 

At the comer Natalie paused for the briefest mo¬ 
ment and looked back at the apartment. There was 
a small, happy smile upon her lips. 

“Nats,” said Pete, “maybe it’s none of my butt-in, 
but I have never once walked out of that place with 
you that you haven’t turned around and looked at 
it, just like that. How come?” 

“Are you sure you won’t think Pm silly?” asked 
Natalie. 

“Of course not.” 

“Well, Pete, you’ve always had a family, so maybe 
you can’t understand how I feel. You see, here I am, 
actually living in New York with a father and a 
mother and—” she broke off. “I still can’t believe 
it’s true. That’s why I always turn around to be sure 
that building really is there, that I didn’t make it all 
up!” Natalie’s eyes were swimming. 

“Funnv kid,” said Pete. “But I know how you 



Commencement 


271 


feel. It’s sort of like that for me, too—being here 
where Fve wanted to come for so long. I guess they 
are the tops, those two.” 

Unknown to Natalie and Pete Those Two were 
watching them from the window. 

“It’s almost too good to be true,” said Natalie's 
father as he watched his daughter's brisk, swinging 
stride matching Pete's steps so easily. “Look at her,. 
Lee. I can't quite take it in even yet,” he went on, 
“nor this.” His eyes roamed over their simple, taste- 
fully furnished home. 

“She is happy, isn't she?” asked Miss Lee. 

“Happy! Why, she has come alive, thanks to you, 
my dear.” 

“But you know, Donald, what Natalie just said 
about graduating by long distance made me surer 
than ever that the child is longing to go back to Buf¬ 
falo and receive her diploma properly with the rest 
of her class. It isn't the first time she has mentioned 
it. What do you think?” 

“Why that could be easily arranged, I am sure,” 
answered her husband, as they walked back to the 
table together. “One more cup of coffee and I'm off.” 

But suddenly he was struck with an idea. “Listen,” 
he said, in his excited, boyish tone, “how's this for an 
idea? Call it a crazy whim if you like, but wouldn’t 
it be fun to spend one last week in Harding Hall be¬ 
fore they tear it down? All of us, I mean. The estate 



272 


Natalie 


agent has written me that he wants me to get all our 
things moved out by the middle of the month. Most 
of the stuff that’s there should be thrown away, but 
maybe you and Bess might like to divide up the old 
furniture between you. 

“Let’s all move up for Commencement Week,'’ he 
went on, his enthusiasm growing as he talked. “Then 
Nats could graduate from her old home while you 
and Bess and I, with Pete to help, cleaned out the 
place. Let’s get Lucinda to come up from North Car¬ 
olina to take care of us. I bet she’d come like a shot 
for nothing but her railway fare, just for the fun of 
it. It’s a big job of sorting and storing which we have 
to do anyway, but combined with giving Nats a 
send-off it might be fun. What do you say?” 

“You darling old romantic!” Miss Lee exclaimed. 
“I think it’s a beautiful idea. You don’t have to cover 
it up by pretending you are doing it chiefly for the 
sake of the moving. Let’s make a houseparty of it 
and invite Dr. and Mrs. Bill and Cuzi-zen Dick; and 
give Natalie a really lovely graduation.” 

“Then you think it would mean a great deal to 
her?” 

“I am sure of it. And I think the idea of opening 
up her old home again is little short of an inspira¬ 
tion.” 

“Good. Suppose we make the houseparty end of 
it a surprise. I have to run up to Buffalo to sign the 



Commencement 


2 73 


last of the papers about the house anyway, and I’ll 
take Pete along and make all arrangements. I’ll plan 
the campaign with Mr. Collins so that that phase of 
it will be all right. And Nats need be none the 
wiser.” 

“That’s fine,” said Miss Lee. “Nats is due for a 
surprise of her own. She has planned so many for 
other people.” 

Donald Harding chuckled. “Well, I’ll wire Lucinda 
at once and also propose the plan to Pete. I think he 
will like it, for it means he can see some more of the 
country.” 

And that is why, a few days later, Natalie received 
two invitations, one from the principal of the High 
School asking her to come back for the graduating 
exercises, and the other from Mrs. Davis, Teddy’s 
mother, inviting her to visit them for the whole of 
Commencement Week. 

“Mr. Collins suggests that I come up in time to 
take all the finals, Mother Lee,” said Natalie, “as well 
as the Modem History exam. He says with my 
former good marks it might mean that I could get on 
the Honor List, if I get good marks on the exams, 
too. I wonder if I really do know enough to pass 
these exams after the lazy life I have been leading. 
It wouldn’t be much of a joke to flunk them and bring 
down my average. Barnard wouldn’t like that!” 

“Not much danger of that, Nats,” Miss Lee said. 



274 


Natalie 


"With a little study you can do it, Fm sure. And, 
judging from the very cordial tone of Mrs. Davis 1 
letter, I think she would love having you for an addi- 
tional week. See , 11 she went on, picking up the note 
from Teddy’s mother, "she says Commencement 
Week or longer if you care to stay. Why not write 
her frankly and ask her if it is convenient ? 11 

"You and Dad will come up for graduation and the 
night of the Commencement Ball, won’t you,” asked 
Natalie. "Maybe Pete would come too. Do you 
think he would like to?” 

"Yes, I am sure of it. You and I must see about 
some new clothes, though. What with the arrival 
of the Fleet and one thing or another, our party 
dresses got some pretty hard wear down in Panama, 
didn’t they?” 

"They certainly did,” laughed Natalie. "All right, 
let’s go shopping. There’s one thing Fm sure of. At 
this school dance, whether the boys pay any atten¬ 
tion to me or not, Fll have the youngest and prettiest 
mother there.” 

"You’re a duck,” said Miss Lee, giving Natalie a 
hug. 

When Donald Harding and Pete returned from 
their trip it was hard to keep the plan a secret from 
Natalie. And it was with a sense of relief that her 
father put her on the train for Buffalo. 

"Hang it all,” he exclaimed later to Miss Lee and 



Commencement 


275 


Young Pete, “I can’t dissemble worth two cents! If 
Nats had stayed around here another twenty-four 
hours, I’d have spilled the beans sure. I hope this 
won’t make her lose her faith in me.” 

“Silly!” said his wife. “This is just the kind of 
surprise party Natalie adores. Look at the way she 
kept me in ignorance of your arrival in Panama.” 

“Well, she wasn’t sure of it herself,” answered 
Natalie’s father. 

“Don’t forget Leonora’s party dress,” said Young 
Pete. 

“You win,” said Donald Harding. 

“I hope this is going to be all right,” he said later, 
when he and Miss Lee were alone. “Natalie left 
Buffalo under a cloud of unhappiness. Do you sup¬ 
pose she still has any fears about the place?” 

“Oh, that’s all over with, Donald. There’s no need 
to worry about Natalie now, I am sure. As for this 
trip, it is just what she wants to prove to herself that 
she is all over the hurt of that year. I think she feels 
that Buffalo is something of a loose end which she 
wants to tie up before she can feel that she has really 
grown up. She told me before she left that she wants 
to make good on her own to prove to us that she was 
worth all the trouble we took for her.” 

“Worth it!” echoed Natalie’s father. “The little 
goose! Does she think that we doubt that?” 

If her father and Miss Lee could have looked into 



27 6 


Natalie 


Natalie’s mind as the train sped across the miles to 
Buffalo they would have known how little need there 
was for worry. Armed with health and happiness 
she had courage enough for anything. Her one 
thought was to pass her examinations with flying 
colors. It would be no small feat to make the Honor 
List after all that had happened to her. 

As for the Commencement Ball, it was doubtful 
if it would be a repetition of that dreadful Autumn 
Ball which had caused her so much pain. The mem- 
ory of that ball was blotted out by another memory 
—of a ballroom under tropical skies and handsome 
young officers in gleaming white uniforms eager to 
have her for a partner. After all, when one has had 
the United States Navy to dance with, a few high 
school boys were nothing to fret about. 

It was late afternoon when Natalie’s train arrived 
in Buffalo. Mrs. Davis and Teddy were waiting at 
the station to meet her. “Oh, it’s grand to see you 
two again,” cried Natalie. “And Teddy, how tall 
you are. You look fine!” 

“You look pretty hot yourself, Nats,” Teddy an' 
swered, sheepishly, gazing admiringly at his old pal 
who was looking so well and pretty. 

“Teddy is right, though not so very elegant in say' 
ing so, Natalie,” said Mrs. Davis who was delighted 
at the change in the girl’s appearance and manner. 
“You do look splendid. You must be sure to let Dr. 



Commencement 


277 


Burgess see you. He will be so pleased about you.” 

The car drew up before a pretty little cottage on 
a street far away from the old Block. “We’ve moved, 
you see,” explained Mrs. Davis. 

“Have they tom down the houses on the Block 
already?” asked Natalie in surprise. “Oh, I wanted 
to see our old house again before that happened.” 

Teddy was about to answer, but Mrs. Davis shot 
him a warning look. “Not yet,” she answered. “One 
or two of the old families are still living there. But 
we moved some time ago when we had a chance to 
get this little place which is more our size.” 

“Well, I’d like to go over and look at the place 
some time before it is gone,” said Natalie. 

Poor Teddy was having a hard time keeping a 
straight face, but his mother jumped into the breach. 
“Let’s wait until your examinations are over, Natalie, 
and we will all go over some afternoon. It will be 
like old times seeing you and Teddy playing around 
Harding Hall again.” 

Examination Week passed quickly. Natalie did a 
great deal of studying but she found the examinations 
surprisingly easy. Apparently her newly acquired 
ability to exercise her brains would always stand her 
in good stead. But would her name be inscribed upon 
the Honor List? She tried not to let herself count on 
it, but how she hoped! 

Late Friday afternoon, when examinations were 



27 8 


Natalie 


over, Mrs. Davis suggested that the three of them go 
for their promised visit to the old Block so that Nat' 
alie could take one last look at Harding Hall. It was 
with mingled feelings that Natalie walked along the 
shaded sidewalk which led to her old house. She re' 
minded herself of the apartment in New York and 
the jolly family of four. Nothing in the world could 
make her wish to change that. But the thought that 
the house would soon be gone gave her a wave of 
homesickness for the old days of Harding Hall. 

She was very silent and her thoughts were deep. 
What was it she had once said to herself a long time 
ago—when new things came into one’s life, some old 
things must go? Yes, that was it. But nothing that 
really mattered was going, just an old house, a shell 
of something. For had she not the best of the things 
that shell used to hold and more besides? Of course! 
Still, it would be fun to be back there again, just for 
a little while. Of course that was out of the question 
and it was silly for her to think of such an impossible 
daydream. 

“Why the brown study, Natalie?” asked Mrs. 
Davis, noticing how quiet she was. 

“Oh, it’s nothing, Mrs. Davis, just a silly wish that 
I could go back and live in the old house for a little 
while with Daddy and Cindy and my nice new 
mother, before it’s tom down and everything is 
changed.” 



Commencement 


279 


This was too much for Teddy! He got red in the 
face and made a queer noise as if he wanted to laugh 
and cough and sneeze all at once and was trying to 
suppress all three. 

“What’s the matter, Teddy?” she asked, sounding 
very much like the Natalie Harding of the old Gang 
days. “Have you gone nuts?” 

“Nothing is the matter,” stammered the poor boy. 
“I—I just thought that was such a cuckoo idea!” 

“Goodness!” cried Natalie, as they turned into the 
driveway of Harding Hall. “What in the world?” 

No wonder she was surprised! She had thought 
she was to see Harding Hall standing deserted with 
shutters closed and barred, and—why, the house was 
alive! Windows were up and curtains were waving 
in the June breeze. The grass had been newly cut 
and the lawn sprinkled. And, unless she was stark, 
staring mad, she was hearing the voice of Big Black 
Glory raised in song! 

“Whose beautiful idea was this?” she asked as she 
ran up the steps to the door standing hospitably open. 
Then she stopped and squealed with delight. Who¬ 
ever had thought of this—pixies, brownies or Daddy 
—had overlooked nothing. Above the doorway was 
the old sign which she and Teddy had resurrected 
for the Tourist Home, but now it was turned over, 
showing the drawing she had made of Minnie Mis¬ 
hap for Aunt Bess’ homecoming. Under the words 



280 


Natalie 


Welcome Home was printed in bright letters the 
single word—NATS. 

She burst into the house like the little tomboy she 
used to be, all but bumping into two young men in 
their shirt sleeves who were decorating the entrance 
hall with boughs of dogwood. 

“Hi!” called a familiar voice. “Why don’t you 
keep out until we get through with the finishing 
touches?” 

“Dick and Pete!” she cried. “Fancy meeting you 
here!” 

But she waited for no further word with them. 
She dashed out into the kitchen and was soon held 
tight in the arms of Big Black Glory. 

“Cindy, darling!” cried Natalie, between laughter 
and tears. “Where did you come from?” 

“Didn’t I always tell you, chile, that I’d come back 
when you sent for me? We-all’s goin’ to graduate 
you from your old home. Let me look at you. My, 
ain’t you pretty and handsome! Did you-all have a 
good time in that heathen place?” 

“Heathen nothing, Cindy. It’s the loveliest place 
in the world. And no alligators bit me, either. Oh 
my, it’s good to see you! Where’s the rest of the 
family?” 

“Here we are, darling,” she heard her father say. 
“Surprise. Surprise!” 

Natalie turned around and there in the dining 



Commencement 


281 


room were all the dearest people in her world, Daddy 
and Mother Lee, Aunt Bess and Uncle Bill, Teddy 
and Dick and Pete. They all began to talk to her at 
once. 

“I never guessed it,” Natalie said. “I tried to come 
over here the first day I got back to Buffalo and Mrs. 
Davis persuaded me not to. Now I know why you 
were acting so crazy coming along today, Teddy. 
Good for you! I’ll say you can keep a secret!” 

“This is a farewell to Harding Hall,” said her 
father with his arm around her. “We want the old 
place to go out in a blaze of glory.” 

There was a great deal to be done in the house in 
the few days before Commencement, for the accumu' 
lated treasures and possessions of many years had to 
be sorted and disposed of. But the evenings were 
devoted to fun, and the old house rang again with 
the sound of laughter and music. 

Seated on the platform with her classmates, with 
Mr. Collins making the address to the students, Nat' 
alie felt very happy in a quiet, contented sort of way. 
High school days were over. She and all of them 
who had played together were young men and 
women now. Well, that was nothing to be sad about. 
It was, as Mr. Collins was saying, a commencement— 
a beginning, not an end. Natalie was sure that the 
new things—the things that were to be—would be 
even better than those they were leaving behind. 



282 


Natalie 


Now he was giving out the diplomas. She went 
up to receive hers, smiling down at the little group 
of her family, who with dear old Dr. Burgess, were 
seated in the front row of the auditorium. 

Soon Mr. Collins would read the Honor List. She 
must not get her hopes up, she thought. After all 
she had been away so much, even though she had 
made such splendid marks during those lonely months 
when she had been such a grind. But wouldn't it be 
wonderful? How she wanted it for Daddy's sake, as 
well as her own! 

Mr. Collins read several names. Then he said, 
"Natalie Harding." 

Was she dreaming? She hesitated a moment, look¬ 
ing bewildered, so that there was a ripple of amuse¬ 
ment from the audience. Then he spoke again with 
a kindly smile. "Yes, Natalie, I mean you." 

When she came forward, "We are proud of you 
here at Buffalo High School, Natalie," he said, and 
for a moment, Natalie felt as if they were all alone 
in the room. Then he turned to the audience. "This 
young woman deserves the special commendation of 
all of us. She met with an accident so serious that it 
might have meant permanent disaster to a person of 
a less valiant spirit. But her courage and endurance 
carried her through. It gives me great pleasure to 
present you with this medal and to pronounce you 
fourth highest honor student in your class. I heartily 




“We are proud of you, Natalie” 
















Commencement 


285 


congratulate you, Natalie, on your success, not only 
as a student but as a human being.” 

There was a burst of applause which grew in vol¬ 
ume as every pair of hands in the house joined in the 
clapping. Natalie turned shining eyes to the princi¬ 
pal. “Thank you, Mr. Collins,” she said quietly, as 
she took from his outstretched hand the medal she 
had so wanted. 

Commencement Night! The same ballroom, the 
same people, but oh, what a different girl, thought 
Natalie. 

“I guess it’s the stag line for us, Pete,” said Dick, 
pretending to be downcast, as the family drove to the 
hotel. “We won’t get a look in.” 

“Remember, faint heart ne’er won fair lady,” said 
Uncle Bill. “Go to it, boys.” 

What a ball it was! Natalie could scarcely believe 
it was happening to her. Everyone wanted her for a 
partner, from the captain of the football team down. 
Dick and Pete did their best to get in a few steps with 
her, but they had little luck. The old Gang claimed 
her for their own again. That is, all but two of them, 
Arthur Phillips and Teddy. She had seen her old 
enemy across the hall and waved to him. He gave a 
start of surprise and blushed as he returned her greet¬ 
ing. Apparently he did not dare come near her. 

It was almost time to go in to supper before Arthur 
plucked up his courage to ask her to dance. And when 



286 


Natalie 


he did, stumbling all over himself in his confusion, 
she laughed inwardly, wondering how this gauche 
boy had ever had the power to hurt her so dread' 
fully. 

“Will you go in to supper with me, Natalie?” he 
asked humbly. 

“I’m sorry, Arthur,” she answered, “but I’ve 
planned to go with someone else.” 

That was the extent of his apology and her pardon, 
but it was enough. Never again could that particular 
memory cause her unhappiness. 

She was dancing with Dick when the announce' 
ment came that they were to go in to supper. 

“What a break for me,” said Dick. “I was afraid 
Pete would make it.” 

“I’m not going to supper with you, Dick,” said 
Natalie. 

“What!” he said indignantly. “Did I come all the 
way from New York to have my best girl turn me 
down when I want to take her in to supper?” 

Natalie was tempted. There was no one in the 
world with whom she would rather go in to supper 
than Dick—no one in the world. But standing all 
alone was a boy who had stood by her, long ago, 
when all the rest of the Gang had turned their backs 
on her. She had promised herself that somehow, 
some day she would make it up to Teddy Davis. This 
was her chance! 



Commencement 


287 


“Got somebody else in mind?” asked Dick as she 
was silent. 

“Uh huh.” 

“Pete?” 

“Heavens, no. Teddy.” 

“Oh, all right,” said Dick, much relieved. “All 
right. That’s different. Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll 
let you go tonight if you promise me a date for sup- 
per and a movie the day you get back to New York. 
Is it a bargain?” 

“Yes, Dick. Thanks.” She left him quickly and 
went over to the comer where Teddy stood. 

“Will you be my supper partner, Teddy?” she 
asked. And smiling happily, the two old friends went 
gaily in to supper. 












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